Remember Your Wings
by nightfalcon222
Summary: When Souta is diagnosed with a deadly virus, he and Kagome move to the US to get superior treatment. But things get more complex when Kagome meets the famous Inuyasha. In her new home, she learns to live again... and hopefully to help Souta do the same.
1. Leaving on a Jetplane

**A/N: HEY GUYS!**

**So, I know I should be updating By Candlelight right now (Don't worry! It WILL come!), but instead I'm posting the first chapter to a new story. Awhile ago, my friend purduepup offered to give me a bunch of ideas for one-shots. And seeing as she's awesome and I am apparently one-shot challenged, I was like, SURE! So, she gave me several ideas, and my favorite was the idea for a one shot in which Kagome attracts the interests of a certain baseball star. I mulled over the idea in my head, wondering whether to write it or not, and eventually, I came up with this multi-chaptered story.**

**So, no. It's not a one-shot. Sorry, purduepup. DX**

**READ AND REVIEW!**

**.x.**

**DISCLAIMER 1: I don't own Inuyasha. Get it through your freaking head. Happy, Rumiko? Can't it be enough that we all worship you?**

**DISCLAIMER 2: I don't own the song "Leaving on a Jet Plane." (Though I'm not sure why I have to put that... seeing as I just used it for the chapter title... O.O)**

**DISCLAIMER 3: Purduepup gave me the idea for Inuyasha being a baseball star, and for something which will happen in later chapters which I'll mention after it's happened cause it's SUPER CUTE! :D So I don't own that stuff, unfortunately. DX **

**However, the rest belongs to me. ;) **

.x.x.

Chapter One- Leaving On a Jet Plane

.x.x.

Of the many ways Kagome had dreamed she would find herself flying to America, this was not one of them.

She'd always been a child of many dreams: fantastic dreams, frightening dreams, dreams of glory and dreams of pain. Nightmares and fantasies, forever intertwining into a multithreaded braid of waking hours and peaceful nights… her dreams had been a tapestry, a painting. With bittersweet nostalgia, Kagome recalled how her mother had always said that her dreams were a Natural Wonder of the world. Even since infancy, her dreams had defined her.

Even the ones she had to give up.

Kagome was unsure what to think as she watched the world—her life, her friends, her home which she loved and despised—fly away beneath the wheels of the jet plane. Sadness, maybe? A wistful sigh, a lip punctured by tooth marks? Was that what she was supposed to feel, to do?

But she didn't feel much of that: sadness. Not that that entirely surprised her; after all, she _was _leaving the cage she'd loathed since she'd discovered the bars. She _was _escaping the confines and limitations of her past life. And she _was _experiencing one of her multitude of dreams: flying to America.

Just not under the circumstances for which she'd hoped.

A small stirring to her left caught her eye, and Kagome tore her eyes away from the shrinking world below. "It's cool, isn't it?" Kagome said, grinning at her little brother, trying to hide the way her hands clenched onto the armrests for dear life.

Souta nodded, staring out the window in open awe. "Yeah… it's… it's… _amazing_," he finally decided, eyes bright and wide and vital.

From his awed face, one would never have guessed that he was harboring a deadly illness. But that's just life.

Kagome smiled, trying to smile openly and not tightly, trying to take strength from his awe. Trying to ignore the realization which was quickly dawning on her as they shot faster and faster into the sky:

She was on a plane.

She was flying across the ocean.

Really fast.

Really high.

_In the air._

_ I am not going to hyperventilate. I am not going to hyperventilate, _Kagome chanted to herself. _I am going to get a grip. I am going to get a grip._

Beside her, almost as if he could hear her thoughts, Souta snickered. Glaring at him, Kagome whined indignantly, "Don't you _dare _make fun of me. You won't be laughing when we drop out of the sky." As an afterthought, grinning a little, she added, "At least I _hope _you won't be… because I'd really begin to question your sanity…"

Souta nodded, smirking ruefully as he said, "And seeing as I don't think we can afford any more doctors for me, I'd better try and stay sane while I'm getting better."

These kinds of words were why Kagome loved her sixteen year old brother more than anything else in the world.

"You'd better," Kagome said menacingly. "And while you're at it…" glancing nervously out the window, she added meekly, "You might want to try and help _me _stay sane, too."

"Don't worry, Sis. I've got your back."

They laughed together, exchanging a smile, and for a moment, as she stared into his bright, black eyes, she was able to forget. To forget the sky, to forget the ground, to forget the plane, to forget her home, to forget the virus ravaging his body somewhere behind that easy smile…

For a moment, just like Japan, she left it below and behind her.

"Kagome… your face looks like it's about to crack."

The moment shattered like glass.

_That would be because it is, _she thought, eyes tightening. But she had to be strong, she had to hide it… for Souta's sake. _All for Souta's sake, _she reminded herself. _This is for Souta's sake… _everything _is for Souta's sake…_

Sometimes it felt like everything she ever did was for Souta's sake. And sometimes, she resented it.

Now was not one of those times.

"It's just the plane," Kagome muttered, glaring out the window as if the clouds personally offended her. "_Clouds!_" she scoffed. "I mean, come on. Who flies through _clouds? _What's the _point? _Clouds belong UP, not… not… d-down…"

Her voice faded as she watched the last layer of clouds sink beneath them, leaving only blue sky above and a sea of white fluff below.

"W-why aren't there any more clouds?" she demanded, outraged. "What happened to them?"

Souta stifled laughter but didn't hide his smirk as he said, "Clouds don't go on forever, Sis. We're higher than them now."

"…Oh." She smiled ruefully, face green. "Right."

_Of course. Stupid._

Souta, not in the least frightened or intimidated by the sky, leaned across her chair, gazing with fascination into the white abyss beyond. "They really look like cotton candy," he mused, eyes bright. "It's like… you could just jump out the window and land on them."

"Yeah," Kagome growled. "That's what they _want _you to think. And then, when you're falling through them en route to being a puddle of gore on the ground, you'll be thinking _SHIT! _and they'll be thinking _SUCKERRRR!_"

It took Souta a few seconds to decide how to respond to that. But finally, rather than giving her a dubious look, rather than pointing out the obvious, he started to laugh, eliciting a multitude of glares from Kagome.

Inside, though, she was smiling.

_His laughter makes me happy… even when he's laughing at me._

Kagome began to wonder whether Souta was actually amazing, or whether it was just that she was stupid.

Eventually the laughter subsided, and he gestured toward the sky, saying, "Look out the window… come on, the clouds won't bite you."

She rolled her eyes in response, not at first doing as he said, but in the silence that ensued, she found it impossible to sit still. Eyes betraying her, they slid to the window, to the blue, airy sea and the cloudy terrain which looked like pure white cotton candy… like she could just jump out of the plane and lie in tufts of cumulus clouds…

_I wish that were true, _she thought. _At least then I could feel better about my life if the engines decided to fail._

Kagome watched the clouds with growing fascination. They were so… free. Light, aloof, independent. _Content. _She'd never actually thought about it that way before, but from above, the clouds actually looked content. Like they were living in their own utopia, their own world which needed no food or water or government or money or disease…

A bird flitted through the cloud, and the cloud seemed almost happy to make way for it.

"You're right," she finally murmured, not taking her eyes off of the sky. "It _is _amazing."

Souta nodded, smiling. "And nothing to be afraid of?"

At first she bit her lip, hesitant… but then, finally, she gave up and grinned, letting out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "Nothing to be afraid of."

_Ah, Souta…_

She didn't know what she would do without him.

.x.x.

"Rock."

"Paper."

"I take it back."

"Too bad."

"Suck it."

"You don't have one."

Kagome laughed out loud at that, burying her face in her hands. "This is ridiculous," she moaned. "What has three hours of boredom driven us to…?"

"Well," Souta said logically, biting his lip to keep from smirking, "I would say _Rock, Paper, Scissors. _The _real _question is what will _fifteen_ hours of boredom drive us to?"

"Twelve," she corrected. "Only twelve left…"

There was a pause.

Then, in perfect unison, they groaned.

.x.x.

_"Finally!_" Souta gasped, leaning back in his seat. "I can't believe they took this long to get us a fucking movie."

"Don't say that word," Kagome said sternly.

Souta gave her a withering look, rolling his eyes. Maybe most brothers would have said something along the lines of, _"What are you, my mother?" _But not Souta. Neither Souta nor Kagome would ever degrade either of their parents that way… not when they'd give almost anything to have them back.

Just thinking about it was making Kagome depressed.

They both turned their gazes to the movie which was coming to life: an action movie. Full of miscellaneous explosions and stabbing and shooting and swords and guns and weird equipment… the kind of movie which bored Kagome to tears.

Souta and her dad had loved these kinds of movies. Whenever they would watch them, Kagome reminisced, she and her mother would sneak out for some girl time… sometimes just walk around, sometimes go to the mall, sometimes to a movie of their own. Those moments had been so, _so _precious to her.

Kagome felt a pain in her gut when she realized she could barely remember them.

She could still remember what it had been like when the news had come. A car crash. Such a common accident, such an overlooked incident… nothing which had ever been so noteworthy before. She'd seen accidents, she'd seen flipped vehicles and burning engines. She'd gawked and felt awful for the people involved, but it was always only for a few minutes. Then the scene of destruction was gone, then the despair was behind her.

She'd never thought that _she _would take a turn to endure the horror.

There had been a time when she would have given up anything to have her parents back. _Anything. _Even her brother; as horrible as that was, it was true. But over time, pain was numbed by reality, and rationality caught up to her.

_Life _caught up to her.

Dreams of grandeur, of achievement, of law school, died with her parents. She'd never known exactly what she wanted to do with her life, but she knew it would have been one of three things: a doctor, a lawyer, or a teacher. Unfortunately, due to circumstances, these dreams were made impossible.

When her parents died and left her the seventeen-soon-to-be-eighteen year old guardian of her fourteen year old brother, she'd known that college was not an option.

She'd resented this a little… resented it, resented him. But she loved him… she loved him more than anything else in the world. Despite her anger, despite her despair, despite her self-hatred for her resentment of him… the circumstances made their bond grow stronger.

They'd _healed _each other.

Souta was the reason she'd been able to survive three years of _nothing. _Souta was the reason that the hopelessness of her situation had never poisoned her heart. Souta was the reason she hadn't ripped off her work uniform and thrown it in her boss's face.

Souta was the one thing she couldn't live without… and the one person she'd do anything for.

Even move in with their grandfather in the United States.

To safe her brother's life.

"Can you at least try to tell me what you like about this movie?" Kagome asked blankly, watching the whores onscreen strutting about in short black shorts and belly shirts while several cars blew up around them. "You know… besides the _overwhelmingly intricate _plot, and the _complexity _of the characters…"

Souta smirked at her. "It's mostly the hot girls."

Groaning, Kagome muttered, "I liked you better when you were a little kid."

Souta only grinned.

When ten more minutes passed and it was apparent that Kagome's boredom was about to drive her to self mutilation, Souta grabbed a magazine from the seat compartment in front of her and flung it at her. "Here," he said. "Might as well familiarize yourself with American culture."

Kagome grimaced at the magazine, holding it in her fingertips as if afraid it might contaminate her. "No way," she said immediately. "I might catch something just by _holding _this thing."

"Oh, stop being a baby. Don't pretend you don't like looking at the guys' chests."

Kagome glared at him… and gave up and looked at the front cover of the magazine.

She couldn't stop the slight blush from rising to her cheeks as she took in the man's body. His arms were strong and tanned, his chest hairless and ripped with abs, and his shoulders… oh, his shoulders were something to behold. But none of this was what _really _caught her attention.

The most striking of his features was his face.

It was heartbreakingly handsome, the kind of face that had teenage girls fawning even when looking at the picture. Of course, at twenty-one, Kagome was much too old to fawn over some celebrity, but she couldn't help but admire him. His golden eyes, his thick, silver hair that fell in a perfect disarray down his back and around his shoulders… even the dog ears atop his head were enchanting.

She grimaced at his expression, though.

"So… Inuyasha, huh?" Souta said, snickering.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Who _is _this Inuyasha guy?" she demanded, holding the magazine cover up to the light, as if there might be a secret message.

At first she missed the way Souta stared at her. But when it became too obvious to ignore, she stared right back at him and demanded, _"What?"_

He blinked. "You don't know who Inuyasha Takahashi is?"

Kagome shook her head, giving him a look that said clearly, _Obviously I don't. _Souta took a few more minutes to stare at her as if she had grown a second head before finally repeating, "You don't know who Inuyasha Takahashi is."

Now Kagome was getting annoyed. "Oh, for crying out loud, just _tell _me!"

Souta stabbed Inuyasha Takahashi in the face and said dramatically, "_This guy _is the most famous freak of nature ever to walk the Earth. He's a baseball player, singer and dancer, model, _and _apparently he's smart, too. And all the chicks think he's hot, but I can't really say anything about that one…"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "He's good looking, I guess," she said reluctantly. "But still… his expression ruins it. He's got that _I'm sexy and I know it _smirk going on. It's revolting."

"You don't have to argue with _me_," Souta said, laughing. "_I'm _not fawning over him."

Giggling, Kagome said, "I guess you're not."

She scanned the cover and flipped the magazine open to the page about Inuyasha Takahashi, scanning the article. _Crap… crap… crap… more crap… more crap… _"Hey," she said in surprise, eyebrows arching up to her hairline, "He's coming to New York."

"New York City?" Souta asked in surprise.

Kagome nodded, skimming the article for information. "Yeah… there's a baseball game in about a week. And I guess his touring follows his baseball team, because he's going to be performing in NYC for awhile…"

"You might get to meet him," Souta said, smirking.

Kagome stared at Inuyasha for one more moment, committing his features to memory before shoving aside the magazine and his horrible, arrogant grin. "I don't care, anyway. He's probably a jerk."

Souta gazed longingly at the crumpled magazine. "Maybe he _is _a jerk," he muttered, "But I'd still give almost anything to see that baseball game."

Her fingers stopped tapping.

"You would, huh…?" she mused, staring with sad eyes at the magazine.

Souta nodded. "I haven't seen a live baseball game since Dad took us for my fifth birthday," he said quietly. "I just… I don't know… I guess I'd like to see one again…"

Kagome could hear his voice faltering, could hear his words fading away, morphing into words which she never, _ever _wanted to hear. Not from him and not from anyone.

She wouldn't let him say it.

"You'll see one again," Kagome promised blindly, interrupting him before he could finish that deadly thought. "I'll make sure you do."

Her brother flushed at the sudden fervor which entered her eyes, the firmness which strengthened her words. "I didn't mean it like that," he said quickly, unable to hold her eyes. Face down, looking at his knees, he muttered, "It doesn't matter."

But it did matter—for more than one reason. And without a thought, without the smallest hesitation, Kagome put her hand on his and forced him to look at her.

"I'll get us to that game even if I have to rip the tickets from a toddler to do it," she vowed.

Souta, unsure whether her eyes sparkled with love or insanity, laughed nervously and said, "That's not really—"

"Shut it. It's completely necessary."

And that was the end of the discussion.

Kagome closed her eyes, leaning back against the chair, trying not to think. Thinking was dangerous… thinking was painful. Talking was all right, words were easy enough, but once something invaded her mind… her sanctuary… it took control.

It left her vulnerable.

_I'll get us to that game. I promise, Souta. _She opened her eyes just a little, just enough to see him staring at the screen again, watching the movie. Ignoring her.

_ I'm sorry, Souta._

Kagome let her eyelids droop shut, let her shoulders slacken and her head roll to one side. The game… they _needed _to get to that game. And one way or another, she would make sure that they _did._

…Though maybe she wouldn't go ripping tickets from little children to do it.

She shifted in her seat, trying to sleep, trying to drift away from fears and problems and brothers and baseball. She clenched her fists. She slowed her breath. She counted to ten.

But she couldn't sleep.

Eyes flying open, she looked once again at her brother… at his glazed eyes and empty face, at his fingers which twitched every so often with well concealed anxiety.

Unable to stand his strength for a second longer, Kagome clenched her eyes shut.

_He needs the tickets more than any toddler does, anyway._

_.x.x._

**A/N: Sooo... what'd you think? ****REVIEW AND TELL ME! (And by the way, for those of you who haven't noticed yet, chapter 64 of Lives Will Change is up :D)**


	2. The Grandfather

**DISCLAIMER 1: I don't own Inuyasha. Get it through your freaking head. Happy, Rumiko? Can't it be enough that we all worship you? **

**DISCLAIMER 2: [the amazing and talented] Purduepup gave me the idea for Inuyasha being a baseball star, and for something which will happen in later chapters which I'll mention after it's happened cause it's SUPER CUTE! :D **

**However, the rest belongs to me. ;) **

**A/N: You guys are too good to me. I freaking love you. Read and review. :) **

.x.x.

Chapter Two- The Grandfather 

It was about 7 o'clock a.m. when Kagome and Souta stumbled off of the plane, looking like victims of the plague and various facial deformities.

"Jetlag is a bitch," Souta moaned, collapsing against the gate wall.

"Oh, buck up," Kagome teased. "Aren't you supposed to be the man in this family? Stand straight, soldier."

Souta shook his head dazedly. "No… I… I feel like I'm going to throw up."

And Kagome, being his sister, knew exactly what to do when Souta dropped his bags and fell to his knees.

Back up. Quickly.

She cringed, watching Souta purge his stomach of all that they had eaten since boarding the flight.

.x.x.

"Think of it this way—who knows what they put in that plane food? You're probably better off," Kagome assured him, wiping the side of his mouth with a napkin. "I mean, whatever that stuff was, it definitely wasn't _food_, let alone the homemade omelets you're treated to each morning."

She pointedly ignored the way he stifled a snort. Grimacing, Souta slapped her hands away. "Let me do it," he growled, cleaning his own face with a fury which made her bite her lip, trying not to giggle.

At times like this, with his face beet red and his fingers quick and strong, she felt that it was beyond a doubt that he would overcome his illness. It wasn't a theory, wasn't a hope—it was _fact_, hard, solid fact which she could feel sitting comfortably at her fingertips. Fact she could touch. Fact she could hold.

Fact she _did _hold… right next to her heart, clenched in iron fists.

"Kagome? What's the matter?"

Kagome glanced at him, watching as the color returned to his lips. She smiled, shaking her head infinitesimally, reluctant to answer. "Nothing," she replied brightly. "Why don't you sit down until you feel better; I'll get the luggage."

Predictably, Souta protested, but after making a leap toward her and staggering backwards, he thought better of it and made his way to the nearest bench, kicking his feet up and lying straight down on his back. Eyes closed.

Kagome took a moment to watch his eyelids droop… and then she left him.

In some ways, it was good to have time away from Souta; it was difficult to think straight when she was near him, and since his diagnosis a week ago, _near him _was the only place she had been. Every second of every hour of every day… by his side.

It was what she'd thought she wanted.

It was what she'd thought she needed.

_And it was what I needed, _Kagome thought as she watched the luggage spin… around… and around… and around… _At the time._

Around and around, the luggage kept coming, but the suitcases were strangers to her. None were hers. They disappeared around the edge of the conveyor belt, forgotten just seconds after they'd come.

Kagome grimaced, wishing that her luggage would appear.

She was glad Souta wasn't there to see her break. To see her head bow, to see her jaw clench, to see her hands tighten into shaking fists. To see her eyes close tightly and squeeze shut, holding back the salty tears which threatened to escape her lids…

She couldn't do this when he was here.

Silently, Kagome cried.

Since the diagnosis, she'd never left his side. It had been an almost pathological fear, an irrational terror that the moment she blinked, the moment she looked away, he would disappear. Forever gone, forever vanished… all because of her negligence.

In her illogical nightmares, his pain was always _her _fault.

Nighttime had been the only time when she was truly alone, and so all her fears, all the anger and sorrow which she'd suppressed by day, manifested into garish nightmares which plagued her as she slept. Nightmares of Souta… of Souta leaving…

And once… once, of Souta _dying…_

Her nails dug into her palms as she remembered that dream: the dream where he'd cried for help… and where she'd realized it too late to save him.

The dream where her carelessness, not the virus, had been his end.

_Not that the virus will be his end either, _Kagome thought reflexively. _We won't let it._

But now, as she stood with her eyes closed before the luggage carousel, as she waited for a suitcase she would not see, she began to wonder what was worse: the nightmares of Souta paying for her carelessness, or the reality that no matter how much care she took, she could not sway the outcome.

A single tear danced down her cheek. And because she had no other choice, because she needed to, she let its companions follow it.

Silent and blind, helpless and hateful, Kagome cried.

"Uh, miss? You okay?"

Kagome blinked, eyes opening slowly, turning to face the one who had spoken: a man. Tan skin, athlete's build, dark brown hair pulled back into a low ponytail. Becoming self-conscious, she hurriedly wiped the tears away with her wrist.

"Yes, I'm fine," she said, reminding herself to speak in English. It came out a bit more harshly than she'd intended, but she hardly felt that anybody could blame her for the way her throat caught. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Hey, sorry," he muttered, glancing down toward the floor. "If it's none of my business, just say so."

She sighed internally. He was a kind man, a gentleman… a person who at least deserved her gratitude in return. But she couldn't bring herself to be grateful, to be pleasant… Kagome was no longer interested in pleasantries.

_I don't have the time to be interested in pleasantries._

And yet still, she felt horribly guilty.

"I'm sorry," she said, glancing apologetically at him. "I… have a lot on my mind."

He nodded airily, frowning. "Hey, it's okay. We've all got troubles. I was just wondering if it was something anybody could help you with…"

She smiled a last broken smile. "No. It isn't."

The man nodded, saying nothing more on the subject.

They stood together for several minutes in a dull silence, watching the luggage go round and round the conveyor belt, their minds far off and elsewhere. Sometimes Kagome took moments like these to let her spirit run free, to soar through the clouds and fly with the birds and tear away from her life like some great, free, powerful eagle… ripping the chains of life with its feet. Sometimes she imagined she was a star, sometimes she imagined she had cured cancer…

This time, she just imagined Souta.

An abrupt, "Kouga," caught her off guard, making her jump a little and stare at the man who had extended his hand to hers. "I'm sorry… what?" she said in surprise.

He smiled. "Kouga," he said again. "That's my name."

"Oh." She laughed. "Right."

After a pause, she added, "I'm Kagome."

Kagome was not liking the look Kouga was giving her, and she was even more unnerved when he brought her hand up to his lips, giving it a playful kiss.

"Nice to meet you, Kagome," he said, smiling brightly. "Now _smile_, for god's sake. Beautiful women shouldn't cry."

And she smiled to placate him, smiled because his intentions were benign… even though his words annoyed her. _What does he mean, 'beautiful women shouldn't cry'? _Kagome griped silently._ Beautiful women have as much a right to cry as anyone else. …Not that it would matter. _

With her hair in an unkempt disarray, her clothes faded and shuffled, and blue circles under her eyes, Kagome certainly didn't think of herself as beautiful.

Which, if Kouga was right, was good… because she wanted nothing more than to curl up in the dark and sob.

She was grateful that Kouga's presence stopped her.

"That's my suitcase!" she said, hurrying to reach the suitcase which was quickly approaching.

Kouga gave her a casual grin. "Don't worry. I got it." He reached in with one hand, grabbing it effortlessly and bringing it to a stop at her feet. Kagome glanced down at it, a little embarrassed by the flashy display… she knew exactly what he was trying to do, and though at one time she might have been amused, at this moment she found herself with little patience.

And in any case, she didn't have time for something like this.

"Thanks," she said reluctantly, smiling what she hoped was a happy smile. "But I can get my own suitcases…"

"Eh, I know that. But I don't want you to."

Kouga smirked.

Kagome groaned.

"Hey, Kagome! Finally, I found you, I was worried you wouldn't be able to carry the luggage by yourself—who're you?"

Kagome and Kouga turned around at the sound of the voice, and with a sigh of something between relief and frustration, she ran to her brother, giving him a once-over before going into _overprotective sister _mode. "What are you doing up? Are you feeling okay? Dizzy, lightheaded, nauseous? I was fine on my own—"

Souta rolled his eyes, planting his hands firmly on Kagome's shoulders, giving her an amused smirk. "I got motion sick, Kagome. That's all."

For a moment, Kagome was confused by those words. _That's all. Just motion sickness. That's all, _she repeated to herself. _But… of _course _it's motion sickness. What else would it be?_

That was the first time that it occurred to Kagome that motion sickness might not be the same on planes as it was in cars and on boats… and that maybe, Souta had thought that the nausea was triggered by something else.

Something which had little to do with the shaking of the jet.

Kagome gave him a quick glance, an appraisal, only to find that he looked healthy. There was only the slightest pallor clinging to his skin, and that only if you analyzed it carefully from inches away…

"You're right," she muttered, patting him on the shoulder. "You're fine."

She wasn't sure who she was convincing.

"Uh… hi?" Kouga said, waving his hand between them. "Still here, you know. If you want to start talking in English."

Kagome flushed. "Oh. Right." Giving Souta a confidential, exaggerated grimace which made him smirk, she said, "Kouga, this is Souta, my brother. Souta, this is Kouga… a total stranger."

Kouga smirked. "Cold, Kagome."

Kagome glanced behind him at the conveyor belt, only to see another of their suitcases making its way along the carousel. She snatched it up, staggering a little under its weight, and was relieved when Souta grabbed her around the waist and held her up.

"Jeez, Kagome," he said, rolling his eyes as he grinned. "You have no upper body strength at all."

"I'm a girl, what can I say? Stop teasing me," Kagome complained, hauling the suitcase back to its companion. "If my weakness embarrasses you so much, why don't _you _take a turn with the heavy work?"

He smirked, giving her a mock salute. "I'd be happy to."

Kouga watched them converse with a blank stare. "Knew I should've taken Japanese," he muttered. "My parents made me take French in college. Haven't used it once."

"French?" Kagome asked, amused. "Why?"

Kouga rolled his eyes, grinning as he said something mockingly in English which Kagome couldn't understand. She nodded and laughed anyway, as if she'd known what he was saying, as if she got the joke… meanwhile feeling like a complete idiot.

_If I'd went to college, I probably could have had a better English course… and a teacher who actually _was _English, _she complained internally. _Speaking of that, I'll have to start English classes again here… there's no way I'm going to live every day of my life wondering what the hell people are saying to me…_

"Kagome? Earth to Kagome? _Kagome?_"

"Oh, sorry," she said. "I spaced out a little." Searching for a distraction, she spotted her brother hauling two suitcases toward them. "Ah, Souta—do you have the bags?" she asked, relieved to return to her native language.

He nodded. "Yeah, this is it. C'mon, the taxi's probably waiting for us."

Kagome grabbed her two suitcases, one in each hand, and began following Souta towards the door. Suddenly remembering Kouga, she turned around, smiled, and said, "Bye, Kouga. It was nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too—hey, wait, where are you going?"

"New York City," she replied… and then she noticed his expression.

_Oh no. He's giving me the It's A Miracle look. This is very, very, bad…_

"You're kidding," he said, laughing. "I live in the city!"

"Oh." She gave him a strained smile. "Great. Maybe I'll see you around."

And judging by the jubilant wave and broad, confident grin he gave her, she was certain that she would _definitely _be seeing him around.

_Crap. Just… crap._

_FML._

.x.x.

"So… why were you pushing him away?"

Kagome shrugged at Souta's question, leaning her head into her hand as she stared vaguely out the taxi window… the sun low in the sky, painting the horizon with a delicate golden glow. It was a canvas of blue and gold hues, dancing in an artful swirl across the grand sky, tall skyscrapers rising up into the clouds around them.

_It's crazy, _Kagome thought, staring at the buildings. _They're bigger than the ones in Tokyo… this is insane…_

"No reason, really," Kagome said, shrugging. "I just… I don't know. I mean, he was good looking, sure, but… I don't have the time to deal with this kind of thing."

There was a pause, a stillness in the air, before Souta said quietly, "And what's taking up your time?"

They both stiffened.

Kagome gazed out the window, into the sprawling grandeur of the city before them, the blinking lights and intricate streets and confusing, confusing _size… _it was a giant, a gargantuan city which looked like it would swallow them whole.

_We're going to die in there. I swear, we're going to die in there_, she thought, more certain than ever of the inevitability of her own doom.

"Work," Kagome said flatly. "Work is taking up my time."

If Souta didn't believe her, he gave no indication of it.

They rode in silence for the rest of the ride, until suddenly an awful smell assailed their noses. It charged down their throats, into their lungs, until Kagome was coughing into her hand and burying her nose in her shirt.

"What the hell is this?" Souta demanded, eyes watering.

"Death. Decay. Despair. Piles of corpses, buried miles under our feet, from all the people New York City has confused to death," Kagome suggested.

The driver seemed to gather what their distress was about from the tones of their voices and their dramatic coughing, because he turned slightly, saying slowly in English, "Don't worry. We are coming near a waste dump. The smell will go away in a few minutes."

Too busy dying of suffocation to resent the fact that she was being spoken to as if she were a five year old, she returned in English, "Thank you."

_And thank God, because if this whole city smelled like the sulfurous feces of decaying corpses, I don't think either of us would be able to keep our sanity from slipping out our nostrils._

She wasn't entirely sure where the _nostrils_ part came from, but it fulfilled her purpose.

.x.x.

True to promise, the putrid stench faded as they wove their way deeper into the city. Kagome took the time they had in the car to stare out the window in a combination of awe and fear; this city was _big. _Bigger than Tokyo, even, and Tokyo had been _HUGE _compared to the small town which she and Souta had lived in_. _For some unfathomable reason, New York City intimidated her; it was as if every skyscraper, every window, every crack in the sidewalk were criticizing her.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that all the signs were in English.

"How do people drive here…?" Kagome muttered to herself, gawking at the long lines of honking cars and careless jay-walkers. She began to sputter, gasping in total disbelief as an entire crowd of people walked _right in front of their car._

"What—what—what are they doing? What are _we _doing?"

Souta frowned in equal confusion, though any panic he might have felt was better controlled. He rolled down the window, craning his head out into the air for a minute, before pulling back and saying, "I think it's just something they do here. Don't worry too much; we won't be driving."

_Great, _Kagome thought sarcastically, face drawn with worry. _We'll just have to walk and be careful to avoid the homicidal psycho-drivers… lovely…_

She took a moment to calm herself, to stop thinking about the negatives and begin thinking about the positives. It had been her _dream _for _years _to come to America: the best universities in the world, arts programs and writing programs and biology programs and law programs… not to mention the opportunity!

_This is what I've wanted since I was a kid, _Kagome reminded herself. _I should enjoy it… even if we don't have the money to do all the stuff I wanted to do._

So for the moment, she would enjoy the renewal, the atmosphere, the vitality… the _buzz _which charged the city, a liveliness she had never seen before in a people. This tremendous energy was one of the first things that struck her about NYC, and she breathed it in, drinking it up until it saturated her lungs and her skin.

_Breathe, Kagome. Just breathe…_

"Whoa, look at that!"

Kagome followed Souta's wild gawk until she saw what he was looking at, and her own jaw dropped; there, on the sidewalk just twenty feet away from them, was a woman dressed in florid colors with her hair spiked up into large rainbow tufts. But even more surprising was her skin… covered in tattoos.

"…I can't decide whether that's cool or gross," Kagome finally said.

"Are you kidding? That's _awesome. _I want a—"

"No. You can get one when you're eighteen if you want."

"Yeah," Souta said bitterly. "If I live that long."

Kagome's breath stopped, and she found herself in one of those moments where she couldn't decide whether she wanted to scream, cry, laugh, or just die to avoid all the stress. She was certain that if they stayed in the car for one more minute, they would suffocate from the suddenly heavy air. Luckily, at that moment the car pulled to the curb and stopped, and Kagome watched almost numbly as Souta jumped out of the car without a backward glance.

"Here we are, Miss… Miss… _Miss?_"

She grimaced at her own distractedness, hurriedly handing the driver his money. He nodded to her, bid her well, and drove away, leaving her and Souta on the sidewalk with all their luggage piled around them, lost in the tumultuous crowds.

Kagome set a determined look on her face, grabbing her bags and beginning a steady march into the apartment building. Somewhat dubious at her sudden determination, Souta followed, dragging his suitcases lazily behind him, lingering a little at the doorway.

Kagome was okay with that; she wasn't sure if she could look at him right now, and if she didn't think she could handle it, she would rather she didn't look at all.

One obnoxious-man-behind-the-desk, one elevator-with-puke-your-guts-out-bland-music, and one copper room key later, Kagome and Souta stood directly in front of their new apartment. It was a nice door, Kagome reflected; the doorknob was polished bronze and shiny, the paint without a wayward chip… all in all, it was impeccable.

Kagome concluded that her grandfather must have OCD.

As if reading her mind, Souta tapped the doorknob, analyzing his finger afterward—which, unless Kagome was starting to hallucinate, was even cleaner than it had been before. "The guy must clean this thing three times a day," Souta said. Smirk turning to a frown, he turned to Kagome and asked suddenly, "What do you think Grandpa is like? I mean, we've talked to him some on the phone, but never very much…"

"I don't know. Crazy, maybe. No, _probably. _I mean, he lives in New York City… everyone here is crazy," she said simply.

Souta laughed at that. "Yeah, probably. Or else we're just boring."

"Are you kidding? Despite the smells and pollutants and gum on the sidewalks, I adore this city. I'm as crazy as everybody else."

Not waiting for a response but smiling at his somehow unsurprised laughter, Kagome stuck the key in the lock and turned it… thinking that she was prepared to face her grandfather.

As it turned out, she was entirely wrong about that.

"What… the _hell?"_

The apartment, to say the least, didn't bode well for her grandfather's sanity_. _Though of _senility _it spoke plenty. If it had simply been an apartment decorated with traditional Japanese furniture, Kagome might have been able to bear it. The Shoji screens, the futons, the delicate trees… _Okay, maybe it's a little weird… maybe I'll be too ashamed to bring any new friends into my home… maybe I'll pretend I don't even _know _this place… but still, I can live._

It was the abundance of sutras and charms which made her eyes twitch.

"Uh… Kagome? What's all this stuff?" Souta asked finally, prodding a tiny little sphere dangling from a string in midair.

Rather than replying, Kagome walked as if in a trance through the solar systems of charms and the arrays of sutras. "I knew he was eccentric," she said, "But I didn't know he was _this _eccentric."

_Apparently, _Kagome thought wryly, _Moving to America didn't help his problems. _

And with every passing minute, the apartment was proving the exact opposite…

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!"

What Kagome thought at first was a crazed burglar intent on murdering her and her brother, ransacking the house, and then selling their organs to the highest bidder proved to be an old man, hobbling with surprising speed towards a very alarmed Souta. The boy whirled around, hands flying off of the stone diorama which he'd been about to touch.

"Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to! I mean—we… _Grandpa?"_

Kagome and Souta gawked at the man who, after their initial shock, they recognized as their own grandfather. The old man stumbled to a stop, resting against the couch, taking a single deep breath before turning narrowed, scrutinizing eyes onto his grandchildren.

They waited with baited breath.

"Hmm… _Grandpa, _eh…?" he murmured to himself. "Oh, that's right… I've got grandkids… huh, whattaya know…"

Kagome and Souta exchanged a skeptical glance which went something like this: _I hope he's not our grandpa. Maybe we've got the wrong room. Maybe he _is _a burglar. Maybe Grandpa's dead._

It was a little disturbing to Kagome that these thoughts were almost hopeful.

They watched the old man with growing trepidation as he moved past Souta to check the health of the stone diorama. Smiling and nodding to himself, mumbling something like, "It's good… safe… it's still good," he turned his attention back to Kagome and Souta.

And then, as if a new synapse had appeared in his brain, his eyes widened.

_"Kagome? Souta_?"

Before they knew it, he was crushing them in a gigantic hug. _I guess he recognizes us now, _Kagome thought, a little gratified and a little worried that they were about to suffocate.

"You've grown so much! My goodness! The last time I saw you, you were peddling around on tricycles!" That part wasn't entirely true, but they let it slide as he continued, "You're so big… it almost breaks my heart…" Stepping back, he stared at Kagome, doing a double take. "I never knew you had it in you," he said proudly, voice cracking. "You're gorgeous! I'm gonna have to break out my shotgun to keep those boys away!"

_Is that a compliment, an insult, or a warning? _Kagome wondered.

"Uh… thanks?" she guessed.

Apparently this was the right move; her grandfather beamed, eyes watering, and turned again to Souta. "And my, what a handsome young man you are…" He crushed the boy in another hug, and Souta turned pleading eyes to Kagome, but she did nothing to stop it… even though they both stiffened when their grandfather pulled abruptly away.

Laughing with nervousness, he said, "This thing you got isn't contagious, is it?"

To Kagome's relief, Souta just laughed with him. "No, Grandpa. The virus doesn't work like that. If it _did_, you think I'd be standing here with you guys?"

The old man scratched his head curiously, as if amazed that sixteen-year old Souta could figure out something he, in all his years of wisdom, paranoia, and senility, couldn't. "Huh… I guess that's true…" Dismissing his confusion, he smiled broadly. "Doesn't matter, anyway. Even if it was contagious, I'd rather you right here by my side than anywhere else. Now, say, why don't you kids make yourselves at home?"

Willingly, they obliged.

Afraid that knocking over a single antique would start a chain reaction which consequently destroyed the entire apartment, Kagome took great care as she carried her suitcases into the guest bedroom which she and Souta would be sharing. Though the fact that the beds weren't so much _beds _as _futons _made her worry her lip, it gratified her to see the two futons with her own eyes… side by side.

_Two. This is a bedroom for two. No matter where Souta sleeps for most of this year, this is going to be his bedroom._

_ This is where he'll always return to._

"Kagome…? Are the futons making you emotional or something…?"

With a start, Kagome realized her eyes had begun to water. _Dang it. Stupid tear ducts. _"Yes," she said haughtily, sniffing dramatically. "They're very… nostalgic. Yeah. Nostalgic."

Her shoulders slackened. "…Yeah."

Souta raised an eyebrow dubiously, and in return she turned her nose up to him, sticking her tongue out. Somehow, she'd never grown out of that gesture… even at twenty-one, there was something _satisfying _about showing someone the saliva on her pink tongue.

Laughing, Souta rolled his eyes, throwing his bags down beside the futon on the right. "Mine," he announced.

Kagome smiled. "Sure, Souta. You can have whichever you want."

And as she watched him fall backwards onto the mattress, as she watched him stretch out and close his eyes, she thought, _As long as you're sleeping in this room, you can have both._

.x.x.

Not entirely ready to face the formidable New York City, Kagome slept the day away. It was a dreamless sleep, a fitful sleep… a sleep which she was certain wouldn't last.

_As soon as I'm used to this place, the dreams will be back._

_ And the nightmares._

She blinked blearily as she woke up, glancing over at Souta, motionless and deeply asleep. Opting not to wake him, she slid silently off of the futon, stretching her muscles a bit, working out the knots and kinks… although the futon had been surprisingly comfortable.

Kagome tiptoed out of the room, in search of the grandfather whom she had seen a few hours ago for the first time in five years. She found him in the living room, staring intently at the television screen, hands on his knees.

A tinny voice was yellow something excitedly in English. "…and look at Takahashi run… he… away that ball and now he's making… out of it… he's… second, coming toward third… and there's Schmidt, he's… with the ball, he's … closer, but _oh, look at that! _Takahashi's… clear over Schmidt's head, my _god, _the guy's a… passing third base, halfway to four… and… it's a home run! _It's a home run—_"

"So… you don't mind demons anymore, huh, Grandpa?"

Her grandfather's head snapped up at the sound of her voice, and his eyes widened with what could only be joy. It warmed Kagome; only at this moment did she realize just how much her grandfather had missed her.

"Demons," he scoffed. "Vile things. But this Takahashi character is Yankees' star player, so… there isn't much I can do about it." After a moment of thought, he added reluctantly, "And he's only half demon, so I guess that isn't _as _bad…"  
Kagome rolled her eyes, smiling despite herself. Her eyes grazed over the many sutras and charms, the statuettes and trees, and finally she brought herself to say, "How has therapy been going, anyway?"

After a moment he clicked the television off, turning to face her fully. "Sit down, Kagome," he said warmly. "Let's catch up."

Kagome sat.

Watching him smile at her, patting the seat next to him before she sat, brought back a feeling of bittersweet nostalgia… a distant memory which she had almost forgotten: how it felt to be taken care of.

_I've always thought I'd be fine on my own, taking care of myself and of Souta… but in a way… it's sort of nice to have an adult around. Even if he's a senile ninety-two year-old, _she reflected.

Her grandfather stared at her, and after a moment of silence, she realized that he'd forgotten what they were talking about.

"Therapy," Kagome said gently. "I was asking you about therapy."

"Oh, right. Sorry, of course." He tapped his head lightly, laughing. "Ah… therapy… is ridiculous as ever." She nodded indulgently. "What _really _helps is that there are barely any demons here. Well, there's Takahashi I guess, but his father was a Japanese demon… and then there's a man named Kouga who works part-time at my favorite restaurant…"

Kagome almost choked on her own spit. _And how attractive that would be, _she thought dryly. Swallowing, she repeated, "His name is _Kouga?_ Tan? Runner's build? Dark hair in a ponytail?"

"How would I know?" her grandfather said irritably. "I don't memorize the looks of every too-eager young man I meet."

Kagome shifted uncomfortably, wondering if this was indeed the same Kouga she had met in the airport.

Wrinkling his nose in distaste, her grandfather added, "He keeps inquiring about you, by the way. Ever since I let it slip that I had my twenty-one-year-old granddaughter and sixteen-year-old son coming to live with me—and you can't blame me! I was excited!—he's been mentioning you once in awhile, ever-so-innocently… like I don't know what's on his mind!" The man rolled his eyes, and his face burned with passion as he said proudly, "But I told him, 'Listen here, youngin'! No daughter o' mine is gonna consort with a demon!'" At this he burst into amused laughter, mumbling the words over again under his breath… "_Listen here, youngin… no daughter o' mine…_" Stifling his chuckles, he grinned toothily at her and said, "I said it, I really did. Can't believe I said that."

Kagome smiled, biting her lip, rolling her eyes. "It doesn't surprise me, Grandpa."

He beamed at her.

After a moment he leaned back. "Ah, sorry. I'm babbling again… silly old me." The light fading from his eyes, eyebrows knotting slightly, he said more quietly, "What's… y'know… going on with you?"

Kagome shrugged. "Just the usual… Souta and I've been on our own. We got our own apartment and stuff—the second floor of another family's house."

"What happened to the old one?"

"The bank foreclosed it." Her face was blank, tone nonchalant. "After our parents died."

His fists tightened briefly, but he nodded. "You guys been all right?"

"Oh, yeah, we're fine."

Turning brighter, sadder eyes to her, he asked, "You aren't too upset you haven't been able to go to college, are you? You know, I was thinking—there isn't much money here at my end either, but if you got a job, we might be able to afford an online course—"

"It's okay, Grandpa," she said, plastering a smile across her face for his benefit. "I'm going to get a job anyway… I'll need it to pay for Souta's treatment. But I'm not going to college yet… everything's just… too complicated, you know?" Eyes dimming, smile fading, she looked down at her limp hands. "Just… too complicated."

Her grandfather nodded, and although his movements were measured, his face was drawn with worry. He didn't meet her eyes as he said, "And… how's Souta?"

_There it is. The question I didn't want to answer._

But just as she had known on the plane, just as she had told herself in the car… much as she didn't want to recount the doctors' words, she had to answer it.

So she steeled herself, blinked hard, and swallowed.

_I will not cry. I will not cry. If I cry… I will rip out my own tear ducts and display them on my bedroom wall._

Empowered by the unpleasantness of the idea, Kagome kept her muted voice carefully steady as she spoke.

"It's an HSV," she murmured, looking at her hands rather than her grandfather. She drummed her fingers on her knees, wondering what to say next.

He quirked his head to the side. "…an HSV…?" he repeated blankly.

"Host-Specific Virus," she explained. "It affects everyone in different ways. The original virus is a harmless, blank virus, but once it enters the human body, it and its RNA morph into something different, a specific kind of virus which can only affect the host it reacted with. That's why it's not contagious—the virus is now adapted to Souta's body. It can't change back into its blank stage, so even if it got into others' bodies, it wouldn't be able to harm them."

Her grandfather nodded, biting his lip. "And… the survival rates… from what you said on the telephone, I gathered they weren't very good…"

Her body was numbed, her lips wooden, her head stiff as it shook gently from side to side. She felt as if any sudden movement would break her self control, release torrents of tears she couldn't afford to shed. _Not yet… not so soon… that's like giving up…_

Gulping, she muttered, "The virus kills about 99.8% of victims. There's no cure or vaccine… only a treatment, and usually, it's long and rigorous and doesn't _WORK!_"

Her grandfather stared at her, and Kagome felt a cold bead of sweat trickle down her neck as she realized she'd begun to shout.

"…Sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry. It's just… I'm angry that Souta might be about to suffer for nothing."

"Me too, Kagome," her grandfather said softly. "But we just have to make sure we stick by him all the while… if you do that, you'll have done all you can for him."

And Kagome nodded, even though inside, she was thinking the opposite.

_I'll never have done enough for him. If he dies… I'll live the rest of my life knowing that I failed him. _

There was a moment of silence… and then her grandfather wrapped his arms tightly around her. She buried her head in his shoulder, nodding at nothing, blinking hard and fast, quelling the tears which had gathered at her lids. _I will not cry. I will not cry. …Tearducts, if I cry, you're going on my bedroom wall… on mine and _Souta's _bedroom wall…_

_Mine and Souta's…_

Kagome didn't take much time to wonder what Souta would think of having two of her internal organs stapled to the wallpaper; that would have negated the effect of the threat, which might have, in the end, made her cry.

Because for whatever reason… her threat worked.

Kagome closed her eyes… and when they opened, they were dry.

"Keep watching those idiots run around in their pinstripes," she told her grandfather, smiling a watery but strong smile. "I'm going to make dinner."

.x.x.

**A/N: First I'd like to give all my LWC fans a heartfelt apology for the fact that I haven't updated it yet! DX I've been having a block for that story. I don't know why. BUT I PROMISE, I WILL FINISH IT! **

**Second I'd like to THANK EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED! :D This chapter's quick update was because of the following people: purduepup, xXInume-TakahashiXx, Inu'sgirl4ever, kenia, yaya, AnimeRomanceFreak1990, ILoveInuyasha4Eva, Sakura-Suzumura, SilverStella, o.0SimplyAngel0.o, Animeroxs Rin-Sess and Inu-Kag, BGuate224, Daichilover, Tomatosoup inc., and 00-Wild-Fire-00! Your reviews MADE MY WEEK! I was amazed at how on target they were; it seems like I got exactly the tone I was going for. This is going to be sort of a complex story because it's going to have lots of different tones all mixed into one mood which I hope will be unique. :) **

**And for those of you who are thirsting for Kagome and Inuyasha to meet- don't worry. I think it'll happen in the next chapter. **

**Now, one last thing:**

**REVIEW! :D What did you think Kouga, and Kags' grandpa? Of the HSV? To my knowledge, I made that up xD. Mainly because it was a cool idea and because it would allow me to keep research to a minimum. TELL ME EVERYTHING! I WANT YOUR THOUGHTS!**

…**That sounded weird. But review anyway. xP**


	3. Aftermath of the Homicidal Taxi Driver

**DISCLAIMER 1: I don't own Inuyasha. Get it through your freaking head. Happy, Rumiko? Can't it be enough that we all worship you? **

**DISCLAIMER 2: Purduepup gave me the idea for Inuyasha being a baseball star, and for something which will happen in later chapters which I'll mention after it's happened cause it's SUPER CUTE! :D Thank you, purduepup! Your one-shot inspired this story to take root in this convoluted little brain of mine. :D **

**However, the rest belongs to me. ;) **

**A/N: Hey guys! Just so you know, this chapter contains some complex scientific details. I made up most of it off the top of my head based on stuff I learned in my biology class. If you don't understand what's written here and want me to try to explain more simply, then tell me so in your review. I will not judge. :) **

.x.x.

Chapter Three- Aftermath of the Homicidal Taxi Driver

.

The waiting room, like most waiting rooms, made waiting just that much more unbearable.

Maybe it was the white-washed walls, maybe the scentless air and the sterile chairs… maybe the atrocious fluorescent lighting which cast the entire hospital in a pale, lifeless glow. Maybe it was the doctors and their coats, the nurses and their hats… maybe it was all or maybe it was none, but whatever it was, Kagome couldn't stand it.

It was making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

_And I have a feeling that soon, it'll be making the hairs on my _head _stand on end, too_, she griped.

Souta, it appeared, was in agreement: his fingers picking at his jeans, his lips tight and thin. "They could at least put on decent shows on the TV," he muttered, grimacing at the television on the wall.

Decidedly, Kagome jumped to her feet. "Fine. What do you want? I'll go ask them—"

Souta's sigh made her sag a little, biting her lip as she frowned at him. "No," he said quietly. "It's fine. Just stay here."

Kagome sat, wondering if he had told her that to say he needed her by his side… or if he was accusing her of something.

_But what have I done? What could I possibly have done?_

"Are you Kagome and Souta Higurashi?"

The sweet, friendly voice made them both look up—mainly because it was speaking in Japanese. Kagome did a double take when she saw the speaker. _Is that a teenager playing dress up? _She thought dubiously, staring at the girl before her. _For crying out loud, is this what they call a nurse? She's got to be even younger than me!_

"Hi, I'm Rin," she said sweetly. "Pleased to meet you. I'm going to be Souta's nurse."

It was then that Kagome decided the world—or at least New York—had gone officially insane.

A tense silence ensued, and Rin shifted, laughing nervously, frowning at them as if _she _doubted _their _sanity. Finally, when Kagome couldn't stand it anymore, she broke the silence. "I'm sorry, but… how can you be Souta's nurse? How old are you?" _She's too young, _Kagome thought. _But… they told us we would be getting someone who could speak Japanese fluently… and how many people around here can speak Japanese? _Hastily, she waved her hands in front of her, adding, "Don't take it wrong, but I—I just—"

To her surprise, Rin laughed—a light, sweet laugh. "It's fine," she said easily. "I'm twenty—just kind of short and young-looking for my age, that's all. And if you were thinking that I'm not capable of doing the job…" a mocking twinkle entered her dark, vibrant eyes as she said, "Don't worry. I graduated Princeton University when I was seventeen, and I'm in my third year of medical school. I know what I'm doing."

That shut Kagome up.

Rin grinned at their dumbfounded expressions, her smile brightening up the room in a way which the fluorescent lights could never _hope _to do. "It's fine… and I'm not as conceited as that made me sound. It's just, well… I need to brag a little, you know? It's the only way I can get my patients and their families to respect me."

"We respect you," Kagome and Souta said meekly.

"Really?" Rin seemed overjoyed. "Great. Then we can move on to business all the much sooner. And every doctor or nurse knows that the sooner the action, the more probable the healing… so let's get started."

And so Rin took Souta into another room, where assumedly, they would run several tests… and Kagome was left in the waiting room with nothing to do but ponder what Rin had said.

_The sooner the action, the more probable the healing._

Not the faster the healing. The _more probable_ the healing.

Kagome groaned, wishing that she could follow her brother into that room, too.

.x.x.

She spent the hour of testing flipping through newspapers and looking for jobs, making tedious calls to tedious people who sounded like they would really rather not be spending their time talking to what they probably presumed was a college drop-out. Kagome had always hated that: how people judged her when they learned she wasn't in college. But just as always, she gritted her teeth and forced a smile on her face; even though nobody could see it, it was good practice… especially for the seven interviews which she'd scheduled.

_As far as hours go, I'd say that I didn't waste this one._

At the end of the testing, Rin led Kagome and Souta into a small office, where they sat in three chairs, facing each other. Rin collected her papers, and their shuffling was loud in the tense silence… too loud. Kagome wished she could tell the papers to shut up.

_But I can't, _she thought, grimacing. _Because they're… well… dead trees._

_ And if a tree can't hear me, a dead tree definitely won't._

"Okay," Rin said, looking them both in the eye. "Let's talk."

One of the things which struck Kagome about Rin was the way she communicated with people; not just with her words, but with her face, her eyes, her hands, her body. She seemed incredibly animated, especially considering what she was talking about. _She's not businesslike or cool like I thought doctors would be, _Kagome thought, intrigued. _She manages to be sympathetic, but not sad... she's animated, emotional, caring, but… she's supportive and warm…_

"I'm sorry," Kagome said suddenly, realizing something. Frowning at Rin, she said, "It's just… if you're a nurse, how do you know all this? Shouldn't we be talking to a doctor? You sound more like a doctor than a nurse."

Rin shook her head at that, frowning as if wondering how to explain it. "I'm actually what's called an SN. It stands for Special Nurse. It means I'm training to be a specialist in HSV viruses—among other things—but I'm not a full doctor yet. But I'm still plenty capable of running tests and recommending which treatments to opt for, even though I'm not licensed to prescribe them."

"Oh," Kagome said. _This kid's a genius. She's got to be a genius. Why can't I be that smart? _"Okay. Sorry. Go on."

Rin nodded. "It's fine," she said dismissively, smiling. "A lot of people get confused. But let's try to continue without interruption, okay? We've got a lot to get through, and the faster the better. It's easier to take it all in at once."

Although she wasn't sure if she agreed with that, she nodded anyway.

"You already know that you have an HSV," Rin said, looking at Souta and Kagome. "The purpose of those tests was to decide which form the HSV is taking… and what exactly it is doing to your body. Depending on the kind of virus, the treatment will change." She swallowed slowly, keeping her eyes bright as she said seriously, "You have an… interesting case. It seems like the virus is actually mimicking a protein in your body—do you know what DNA polymerase is?"

Souta gave her a sidelong glance as he said, "It's an enzyme. It makes sure your DNA replicates right when cells divide… something like that?"

Rin nodded. "That's exactly right. DNA polymerase fixes the base pairs in your DNA double helix; it protects your body from genetic diseases and mutations. Your HSV infiltrates the cell DNA like a normal virus, but rather than instructing the cell to make more viruses, it instructs the cell to make more of a certain type of enzyme—an enzyme much like DNA polymerase, but which doesn't do the job correctly. Your cells, thinking that it is making too much DNA polymerase, will shut down the production of the _normal _DNA polymerase. Without functioning polymerase, new cells may suffer from a variety of mutations, ranging from genetic diseases to cancers."

Souta and Kagome paled.

"Don't panic yet," Rin said softly, reaching out, touching their hands. "There may be no cure, but there are treatments. Only experimental, of course, but… it's something, right?"

Kagome's throat was dry. "What kind of treatments?" she all but croaked, fighting to keep her voice steady. _For Souta, _she chanted. _Be strong for Souta._

Rin seemed to know that they needed to hear everything as quickly as possible, before they could lose their nerve. "For one thing, we'll be having to fight all the mutations which might occur," she said. "Some have reliable treatments or cures, but for some, treatment will be long and rigorous. But we'll deal with that when and if it appears. For cancers, with luck and regular screenings we'll be able to nip those in the bud, but I'll be straightforward with you: there's a chance that at some time or other, you'll have to go through chemotherapy. Possibly more than one time."

She paused, giving them a moment to breathe before continuing, "The main treatment will be something called VEIRA. Viral Eradication Irradiated Attacker. It's a method which a few scientists at various universities are working to perfect. The strategy is to introduce a foreign substance to the body—a fake version of your virus which is actually controlled through radiation signals by special doctors. The HSV, hopefully, will eventually accept VEIRA as a similar virus, at which point VEIRA will begin to replace the HSV. The hope is that eventually VEIRA will have overwhelmed the HSV, and the doctors will be able to deactivate VEIRA, leaving Souta's body free of the virus." Rin blinked at them, leaning back. "Do you understand?"

They gawked at her.

"Sort of," Kagome said weakly, while Souta said flatly, "Not at all."

Rin grimaced and said gently, "Well, you will… after awhile. But I don't think I can explain it in any simpler terms than this: you're in for a long and possibly very expensive ride. I would recommend getting a financial agent—have you even begun to think about money yet?"

As Kagome listened, she could feel her heart sinking through her bones like putty, melting out through her skin and settling somewhere at her feet. Like a puddle: a puddle in which she was about to drown.

_Who would think of money, _she thought, edging on hysteria, _When their little brother might be dying?_

Kagome hadn't given money a thought; it had seemed a much lesser concern compared to everything else hanging over their heads. But now, sitting before their SN, in their hospital, under the roof they would be visiting with frequency second only to their own home… reality was caving in upon their heads.

"How much is it going to cost?" Kagome asked numbly.

Rin pursed her lips. "It depends…" her eyes were soft as she said, "With the technology employed, these treatments are often very expensive. And oftentimes, insurance doesn't cover it."

"_How much?"_ Kagome almost hissed.

Her brother tensed beside her, eyes flickering nervously to her face and to Rin's. When Kagome noticed his anxiety—and the stirrings of guilt behind his brown eyes—she took a deep breath, recovering herself, inhaling until she couldn't breathe in anymore.

_Exhale. Relax. For Souta._

_Always for Souta._

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, giving them what she hoped was a convincing smile. "I just… you're right. We need to figure out how we're going to afford this."

Souta's brow creased. "Maybe we could get something cheaper," he suggested quickly. "We don't really have to get the best treatment around—"

"This is not up for debate, Souta," Kagome snapped. _Of course we have to get the best treatment around. It's what we came here for._

Though her tone was harsh, Souta knew better than to be hurt by it… or to debate it. So he gave her a small nod and a small smile, which Kagome hoped was his way of saying, _Thanks, _and not his way of saying, _Thanks, but we both know that no matter how much money we blow on this… it won't make a difference._

Kagome's eyes narrowed as she thought, _It'd better be the first one._

Rin noticed her narrowed eyes, and something churned within the SN's own eyes… something deep and something strong and something complex. Something which tortured her. _What is she thinking? _Kagome wondered, finding refuge in unraveling the struggling look on the young woman's face. _I don't really know how to describe it, but… she's not how I thought she would be…_

It was almost as if the moment between Kagome and her brother had _moved _Rin… and Rin was trying not to be moved.

And failing.

Finally the boiling emotion faded, and Rin sagged a little before straightening up, looking them in the eyes with her former passion. "I promise, we'll give you the best treatment possible," she said earnestly. "And I can recommend several good financial planners and psychologists—"

"Psychologists?" Kagome and Souta echoed, surprised.

"I'm sick, not _psycho_," Souta said scathingly, eyes wide and horrified. "Is this thing gonna mess up my brain, too?"

Kagome struggled to be politer as she said, "I'm sorry, but I don't understand… why would he see a psychologist?"

"Both of you," Rin corrected. She gave them a hesitant smile. "Oh, right… people don't usually go to therapy in Japan, do they? Well, it isn't so odd here."

"Doesn't surprise me," Kagome said wryly. _After all, _she thought, _New York might be full of Grandpas running around the streets…_

Rin and Souta laughed—a tense laugh, but still laughter. "It isn't as terrible as you would think," Rin assured them. "And it will really help you, in many ways… dealing with this, I mean. Of course it's up to you, but I would really recommend it. I'll find references and email them to you, alright?"

"Thanks," Kagome said, smiling a strained smile. "But it doesn't matter, anyway. We won't be able to afford a psychologist or a financial planner if we're already saving up for the treatment."

Rin kneaded her shirt with her fingers, pursing her lips in thought. "Maybe," she said slowly, "You could apply for the hospital financial help program… I could file your application. We couldn't pay for the treatment, but we could hire a psychologist and a financial manager for you—"

Kagome shook her head hurriedly. "Oh, no, we couldn't—"

But Rin had decided. "You could, you can, and you will," she said, smiling. Her eyes were bright and almost alarmingly intense as she said decisively, "I'll file your application tonight. You'll have a response soon." The intensity dimmed a little, and she smiled beseechingly at Kagome and Souta as she said, "Please don't say no. I want to do all I can for you."

_And I don't know why, and I don't know how, but somehow… I believe her._

So Kagome said reluctantly, "Okay."

Rin smiled a brilliant smile which didn't seem at all fit for a hospital office, especially during a discussion about a deadly virus. And Kagome might have thought it grotesquely inappropriate, might have told her not to smile so much when she was looking at a sick child… but she didn't.

To say something like that, Kagome thought, would have been grotesquely inappropriate in itself. Especially when that bright smile of Rin's seemed more breathable than the stiff air which was surrounding her.

.x.x.

Kagome and Souta walked in silence for the first block, not looking up at the skyscrapers or around at the bustling people or even at each other. Instead, their eyes were trained on the ground before them: the grey sidewalks littered with cigarette butts and gum.

Kagome wasn't sure what about the gum drove her insane: perhaps that she was stepping on it, or perhaps that the smudges of gum were ubiquitous on the city streets. _Or maybe… it's the stupidity of it, _Kagome thought, frowning. _Maybe it's the fact that it doesn't have to be this way._

_ It could've been such a simple problem to solve… but people just can't get their act together._

Unlike some problems. Some problems, people could get a thousand acts together, and the problems would never be solved.

It enraged Kagome that people would be so careless when they had the luck to have a life which could be influenced by their care.

"Kagome, are we going to talk?" Souta asked finally.

Kagome smiled at him. "Sure, Souta. What about?"

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her to a stop as he stared imploringly at her. "I want you to cut the crap!" he almost begged, trying to keep his eyes glaring and not watering. "Come on… it's not such a big deal."

Kagome started walking again. "How big a deal it is is irrelevant. We'll get through it. It'll be fine."

"I believe it," Souta said softly. "It's not _me _you have to convince."

"What do you mean," she muttered. It was supposed to be a question, but she garbled the words. "Of course it's you. You're the one who's being all negative."

"No, _you're _being negative! You… you… you've been acting weird ever since we found out."

Souta bit his lip, looking down at the ground. Kagome could see them, the tears which he used to shed so easily… _He's still sensitive, _she thought. _He's older now, but he's still sensitive… and he's still more mature than I am…_

"I want it to be how it was," Souta said, looking up at her. "I want it to be normal."

_Yeah… I wish it could be, _she thought wistfully.

"I'll work on it," Kagome promised, smiling sincerely. "I swear. It's just… I need to adjust, okay? I need some time to figure out how we're going to deal with this—to figure myself out. I need to know how I can help you. And then, I _promise, _it'll be back to normal."

Souta grimaced. "Promise me you aren't pitying me."

"I'm not pitying you!" she said earnestly. "You… you're amazing, Souta. You're being so strong." Eyes watering, she said, "I'm so proud of you."

"Oh god, not the waterworks… Kagome, this is a public place…"

But it was too late, and Kagome had flung her arms around her. "I love you, Souta!" she said loudly, not crying but instead being deliberately obnoxious… trying to distract him from how close she'd come to sobbing. "I LOVE YOU SOOOOO MUCH!"

"Ah—Kagome—I'm—I'm gonna die—"

Laughing, she pulled away from him, grinning. "See? If you can survive a death hug, you can send any virus straight to hell. So… if I promise to be normal, you promise to win, alright?"

That, apparently, was the right thing to say… because Souta smiled the most genuine smile he'd smiled in days.

"It's a deal."

.x.x.

In the evening, with the blue sky just barely beginning to dim, Kagome and Souta decided to part ways and enjoy their second day in New York City separately. Maybe it was the need for space, maybe for time to think… maybe just their different interests. In any case, they weren't particularly concerned; they knew they'd find each other later, at the apartment.

Safe.

Kagome wasn't too concerned about letting Souta go off on his own; she always had, after all… before. Souta was sixteen, she reminded herself. He could live his own life, be his own person… even, if he felt daring, cross the street without first consulting her…

Kagome chuckled a little to herself, mortified at thinking a thing which made her sound so much like an overprotective mother.

_I can't help it, though, _she thought, watching Souta disappear into the crowd. _I'm all he has… and he's all I have…_

Her eyes were still on the body of some boy in the far distance—a boy who was probably not Souta anyway—as she stepped out into the street.

Which was unfortunate.

"WATCH OUT!"

Kagome heard the shout almost a second too late: in other words, a second after she would have been smothered into the asphalt, had it not been for a body that crashed into her and knocked them both to the ground on the other side of the street. There was an uproar of horns and a screeching of tires, which were quickly joined by a loud proclamation of divine excrement.

_Which, _Kagome thought bitterly, _Seems to draw more attention than the fact that I've almost been turned into a bloody pile of flesh on somebody's windshield. _

"Hey! Are you even listening to me? What the fuck were you doing?

Considering she'd almost died, Kagome was in no mood to take crap from _anybody. _Especially alarmed when she realized that someone's muscular arm had been thrown over her chest—_to protect me, _she scoffed, _Yeah right._—Kagome prepared to scream.

And then she turned her head… and stared.

First, it vaguely occurred to her that the man she was looking at had both tackled her to the ground and saved her life. So, maybe, if she weren't in shock, she could've overlooked the fact that he'd just sworn at her.

Second, it occurred to her somewhere in her frazzled mind that his face was _gorgeous._

And familiar. But stunned by his general hotness and also by the fact that she'd almost died, Kagome was too confused to do anything but what her instinct told her to do. Which was, in short, to say this:

"You _jerk! _I almost _died_, and you're _yelling _at me?"

He gawked at her.

"You… Jesus Christ, I just saved your life, you _bitch!_" he growled, jumping to his feet with surprising agility.

Kagome didn't know many English swear words, but _that _one she recognized.

"You… you…" _Profanity, profanity… how many do I know… _"Butt-hole!"

It only took a few seconds of blank staring for her to realize that she must have gotten the word wrong. In fact, even if he hadn't cracked up, she probably would have gotten the message.

He cracked up anyway.

Kagome glared up at him, not having gotten up from the ground. "What's so funny?" she demanded.

He shrugged, smirking a little. "You. You just got here, didn't you? From Japan, I guess?"

Kagome nodded hesitantly, surprised by the change of tone. "…Yeah. And I guess you just got here from the town of—_ass_holes?"

That had him laughing all over again.

Kagome stood up haughtily, brushing the dirt off of her shorts—which she was now all too conscious of. _I knew I shouldn't have worn these short shorts, _she thought frantically. _Oh god I got overexcited about being _allowed _to wear short shorts now everyone probably thinks I'm a slut or something…_

"Was that what you were trying to say?"

"Huh?"

She blinked up at him, and as he smirked, it occurred to her that the smirk, too, was all-too-familiar. _Where I have seen that smirk before, _she thought, frowning up at it. His face—the jaw, perfect nose, glowing skin, bright, gold eyes—seemed eerily familiar. The short brown hair wasn't particularly familiar, but she assumed she'd just forgotten that part… after all, such a thing wasn't very hard to forget in wake of such amazing features… including quite impressive muscles…

_I'm a woman, _Kagome grumbled, reddening slightly. _I can't help myself._

His eyes wandered briefly from her face, and she couldn't help but wonder just what he was looking at. But when he looked up again and caught her staring, he smirked slightly… and she noticed something about the familiar smirk: it wasn't entirely familiar.

_It's like… I've seen it before, but it's different than how I remembered. If only I could remember what I remembered…_

His voice brought her back down to Earth. "Was that what you were trying to say?" he asked again, stifling laughter. "_Assholes?_"

Kagome reddened. "Don't make fun. It's not my fault."

"Sure, sure."

She only realized after they'd taken a few steps that they had actually begun to walk together. Her trying to keep her cool, wondering why they had gone from biting each others' heads off to walking in a comfortable silence… him with his hands in his pockets. She wondered what he was thinking under that baseball cap of his…

"What's your name?" she asked.

He hesitated for a second before saying, "Jordan. Yours?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Americans have weird names. And you don't look like a Jordan." He raised his eyebrows at her, and they laughed a little. Remembering his question, she said quickly, "I'm Kagome."

_And I have to get out of here. Soon._

She wasn't sure why she felt the need to leave, but for some reason, every muscle in her body ached to run… from him. Every cell in her body was telling her that she needed—no, that she _ought _to go home. It wasn't that she was afraid or uncomfortable, but something within her was dragging her back.

But something else was also pulling her forward, and for the moment, she decided to humor it.

_For curiosity's sake, _Kagome told herself. _And besides… he's out of my league._

_ Which is good, because as I told that Kouga guy… I don't have time for things like this. And I shouldn't entertain such thoughts._

And yet she did. And was.

"Where are you going?" he asked suddenly.

Kagome shrugged. "Nowhere, really. Well, maybe food… I don't know…"

He grinned at her. "Do you like ramen?"

"_What?"_

"I know it's weird, but it's my favorite food," he admitted, grinning wider. "There's a great ramen place down the street. Come on, I'll show you."

Kagome rolled her eyes, opened her mouth to say she was otherwise engaged, and said instead, "Sure."

He grinned, and she thought vaguely to herself that she liked his grin more than she liked his smirk.

They changed directions, walking faster toward the legendary ramen shop. Kagome raised an eyebrow at him, deciding to tease, "So… you thought that just because I'm Japanese, I'd like ramen?"

He shook his head, smirking that smirk of his which she couldn't exactly describe. "Nah. _I _wanted ramen, and I decided to ask you if you wanted to come and make it seem like I might change my mind if you didn't want ramen—when really I'd just go for ramen anyway, cause the stuff is awesome. You being Japanese is just a plus."

Kagome rolled her eyes, holding in a snort. "We don't love ramen all that much," she said wryly. "I had it almost every night at home."

Jordan gawked at her with a childlike envy which made Kagome want to laugh out loud. "Shit," he muttered. "You guys have got everything…"

Laughing, she said, "I'd much prefer something else, believe me… I don't know why you _like _ramen. I mean it's okay, I guess, but a delicacy? No."

"It's not a delicacy," he said seriously. "It's my religion. Don't screw with a man's God."

Kagome took a second to decide how to respond to that before bursting into laughter.

They sat at a table in the corner of the ramen shop, by the window ("If you suck at talking to people," he'd said, "Just look out the window and find a freak to comment on. It's what I do—even though I don't suck at talking to people."). Kagome wasn't entirely sure what he meant by _suck _at talking to people, but she quickly gathered that it was synonymous with _stink _or some such word.

_Doesn't make much sense, _she thought vaguely, watching with amusement as he wolfed down his ramen. _But then again, nothing here does…_

"What're you staring at?"

She jumped, looking away. "Nothing." _Ah. Perfect. _Turning her eyes back up to him, she smirked and said, "Just somebody who can breathe noodles…"

He rolled his eyes, smirking a little as he said, "Was that supposed to be a comeback?"

Kagome made an indecisive snort, not deigning to answer the question. Her eyes began to wander toward the window as she found herself wondering several valid questions. First, what was Souta doing? Second, what was _she _doing having _dinner _with a total _stranger?_

Third…

_WAS I ALMOST RUN OVER FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO?_

Kagome's jaw dropped. "Oh my god," she said softly. "I was almost run over fifteen minutes ago."

Jordan nearly vomited his ramen. Choking back laughter, he said, "No shit."

"I… I… oh my _god. _I almost _died!_" Beginning to hyperventilate, she threw down her chopsticks and almost shouted, "What the hell was that guy _doing, _driving like that? And wouldn't you think they'd _stop _when they almost _killed _someone?"

To Kagome's immense frustration and disbelief, Jordan shrugged. "Keh. It was a taxi," he said, as if that explained it all.

Kagome's eyebrow twitched. "It was a _taxi_," she repeated. "And that gives it the right to pave the street with my blood plasma."

He laughed a little at that. "I never said that. It's just that in all honesty, taxis don't give a damn if they plow down a few pedestrians on their way to wherever they're going."

She laughed a little, half in humor and half in shock. "So I've learned."

He resumed the devouring of his ramen. "Just remember to be careful," he said, shrugging. "The city might confuse you now, but you'll get used to it."

"And you? How long have you been here?" Kagome asked.

"I was born here. I grew up here," he explained. Quirking his head to the side in a manner Kagome found strangely adorable, he asked, "Why'd you come here?"

Kagome's hands tightened under the table. "Family reasons," she said evasively. It was clear he wanted to know more, but with some effort, he resisted the urge to pry. She gave him a small smile to show her gratitude… to thank him without saying the words. In return he gave her an even smaller frown, but nodded all the same.

_You know what? _she thought. _He's not half bad._

Not that it mattered. Because she didn't have the time anyway. And it wouldn't be fair.

Yet Kagome couldn't help but find herself faintly regretful of her resolve to keep everything simple. She'd never been the type to like things simple… Kagome had always liked life to be scattered with excitement and challenges. But unfortunately, the present challenge was overwhelming her. _There's no room for distractions, _she thought, sighing a little. _Not like it would matter anyway… I mean, look at him. He's out of my league._

"You sigh a lot, you know that? It's sort of weird."

_And let's not forget, _she thought to herself, smirking slightly, _That he's a jerk._

_ …But not a half bad jerk._

They spent awhile in the ramen shop, just talking. Kagome found it oddly relaxing, as if just being with him, with somebody relatively her age, somebody _normal_, was draining her body of the tensions and aches. Of course she knew that as soon as she was alone again, everything would return, but for now… she felt light. Like all her concerns were at the back of her mind.

And she felt very guilty about it.

There was a slight reserve to her laughter as they left the ramen shop. Glancing upwards, she searched the sky for a distraction… and found the clouds. "I can't believe I was above those things less than forty-eight hours ago," she said softly.

Jordan raised an eyebrow at her. "The clouds? I've been up there a bunch of times. That's the best part of flying."

Glaring, she said playfully, "Depends on your point of view."

He smirked at her, a stunning smirk which left her almost awestruck. _Oh come ON, you're not a teenager anymore, _she grumbled to herself. _So stop acting like one. _And yet… she couldn't help it.

_I'm attracted to this Jordan guy_, she realized._ Crap._

Attracted to, of course, was not necessarily the same as _interested in. _That would take some time, time which Kagome doubted she had, seeing as he stopped them at the corner with the air of someone about to say goodbye. Jordan opened his mouth, looked at her, frowned in thought… and finally gave her a small shrug.

"So… bye. It was cool to meet you. Maybe I'll see you around."

The _maybe _didn't seem very promising, but it almost seemed a little wistful.

"Yeah… see you…" Kagome found herself trailing off, but she wasn't entirely sure why. The only thing she _was _sure about was that something was very, very off. Off about him, about the familiarity of his face and the unfamiliar, familiar smirk…

Something was undeniably, unequivocally, extremely _off._

Especially about the single strand of gray hair which dangled on his forehead, shining silver in the sun…

_Wait… that's not gray…_

_ HOLY F#*&#!_

"Holy… holy… _shit_," she spat, staring at him in complete shock. "You… I _knew _it! You're _not _Jordan! You—you—you _asshole, _you're Inuya—"

Wild panic entered his eyes, and unthinkingly, he clapped a hand over her mouth, shaking her a little. "Sssh!" he urged. "Don't make a scene! Shut up!"

Kagome's eyes twitched, and when he moved his hand, the first thing she said was a mocking, "_Don't make a scene? _What, like you think I was _going _to? You think you're worthy of making a scene for?" Groaning, she spun about in an agitated circle, pointing at him and snapping, "I knew it! I knew you were an egotistical narcissist!"

No-longer-Jordan gawked at her. "What the hell are you talking about? I—I'm not a… whatever you said in Japanese!"

Kagome rolled her eyes, smirking at him. "I don't know how to say it in English, but it's a mental condition where you're in love with yourself but actually have a fragile self esteem which you hide by building yourself up."

He rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm not whatever that is, then. I _don't _have a fragile self esteem. Not remotely. There's nothing wrong with knowing your talents." Smirking at her, he said, "And besides, a lot of people _would _make a scene."

Kagome shrugged. "My brother thinks so, too. But I only just learned you existed two days ago."

Inuyasha stared at her, reddening. "Are you serious? Do you live under a rock?"

"_No_, I live in _Japan_, idiot," she snapped. "Well… here, now, I guess."

"Look…" he grimaced at her. "Just don't make a scene or anything. The whole reason I walk around in this stupid wig is cause people won't recognize me without my hair."

She smirked. "Your hair _is _pretty unique…" Shaking her head, grinning as he glared, she said, "I'll keep quiet… if you do something for me."

Kagome couldn't help but feel great when he gawked at her. _There's something about blackmailing a famous baseball player that feels incredibly freeing, _she thought smugly. _I should do this more often. _

Inuyasha glared at her. "No promises."

Taking a deep breath and refusing to be intimidated, Kagome said sternly, "I want two tickets to your next game."

That seemed to take him by surprise. "_What?_" he said dumbly. "Tickets?"

"Yep. Oh, and make them good seats, too," she added as an afterthought.

Inuyasha smirked. "I thought you didn't know who I was. Who knew you were a fan, after all…"

Kagome rolled her eyes, hissing in her throat. "It's not _me. _It's for my brother," she explained. "And I figure I'll go with him because he doesn't have anyone else to go with. It's not like I'll enjoy it. I'll be bored out of my mind the whole time, I _promise._"

To her surprise, Inuyasha seemed to be struggling to hold in laughter. "Right… for your brother…" Giving her a speculative grin, he said, "Okay. You've got a deal. Just one thing, though… I think you owe me for the tickets."

"Are you sure about that?" she asked, smiling sweetly. "I would've thought that saving you from being molested by drooling fangirls might have been enough for you…"

"Almost," he said, smirking, "But not quite."

Realizing he was serious, Kagome shifted her feet. "No promises. What do you want?"

His answer was immediate.

"You to meet me at the Snack Shack tomorrow at noon."

Kagome blinked.

"…What?" she said blankly, staring at him. _He did not just invite me to go to lunch with him… I mean, why would he do that? It doesn't make sense, anyway. He can't be serious. He's going to stand me up._

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and enunciated, "_You… _meet _me… _at Snaaaaaaack Shaaaaack… tomorrow… twelve… o'clock."

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him, putting aside her offense to ask curiously, "Why?"

Shrugging, he replied, smirking, "I'm bored of my teammates, and you seem like a sane girl I can hang out with. One who isn't gonna drool on me or creep me out." Beginning to walk away from her, he called out over his shoulder, "I'll see you tomorrow. I'll have the tickets."

Kagome stared after him, a little red in the face. _Don't ask it don't ask it don't ask it, _she chanted to herself. But despite all her imploring, she couldn't help but ask.

"This isn't a date, is it?" she called out. "Cause I don't have time for that kind of thing."

Inuyasha stopped walking for just long enough to call over his shoulder, "Course it's not a date. I'll show you around the city or whatever. Nothing special. Just friends."

"_Acquaintances!"_

She could hear him laughing as he chuckled, "Even better. Acquaintances is a no obligation relationship." He took a few steps away, turning his back on her, but just as she was about to leave, he whirled around and grinned once more. "Oh, and by the way—Kagome. I think the word you were looking for was _narcissist._"

With that he turned on his heel and disappeared into the crowd, with just one last casual wave… and Kagome was left alone on the sidewalk, completely bewildered and not sure exactly what to be feeling.

It occurred to her, as she turned numbly and began walking back down the street toward her apartment, that maybe, she should have been more amazed. After all, what were the chances that on her second day in New York City, arguably the most popular baseball player in the entire world would save her life, eat _ramen_ with her, and then tell her to meet him the next day? Shouldn't she be elated, excited, foaming at the mouth?

And yet… she wasn't. Only pleasantly surprised and somewhat skeptical.

As Kagome made her way down the street, twirling her apartment key around one finger, she was thinking of two things: first, that she'd gotten Souta tickets to the baseball game… without making any toddlers cry. And second, that she was going to go to lunch with the very same man who just two days ago, she had called repulsive.

And that he was so _not _repulsive.

(Not that that mattered, of course. Because she didn't have the time.)

.x.x.

**A/N: To all who noticed the second chapter's title: yes, it was a play on "The Godfather" (awesome movie :D). Though this story has nothing to do with anything about The Godfather, I thought it was sort of cute to name a title after it. xD**

**Anyway. This chapter was a pretty light chapter except for the beginning, but like I said, this story will have a range of emotions. Sorry if I didn't characterize Rin correctly—you weren't supposed to find out very much about her in this chapter. After all, when she's talking about Souta's **_**deadly virus**_**, she can hardly be as much her usual, chipper self. But how she was supposed to be portrayed was supposed to be very caring, but never pitying. Earnest. But you'll learn more about Rin later.**

**Thank you so much to BGuate224, Sakura-Suzumura, Inu'sgirl4ever, kenia, AnimeRomanceFreak1990, purduepup, SilverStella, Daichilover, ILoveInuyasha4Eva, 00-Wild-Fire-00, Animeroxs Rin-Sess and Inu-Kag, and iheartinuyasha for reviewing! 3**

**REVIEW, GUYS! AND THEN **_**YOU **_**CAN GET A 3 AFTER YOUR NAME, TOO! :D **


	4. At the End of the Day

**DISCLAIMER 1: I don't own Inuyasha. Get it through your freaking head. Happy, Rumiko? Can't it be enough that we all worship you? **

**DISCLAIMER 2: Purduepup gave me the idea for Inuyasha being a baseball star, and for something which will happen in later chapters which I'll mention after it's happened cause it's SUPER CUTE! :D Thank you, purduepup! Your one-shot inspired this story to take root in this convoluted little brain of mine. :D **

**However, the rest belongs to me. ;) **

**A/N: I AM BACK! For all of you who read my mildly hysterical A/Ns which were deleted, I'll tell you that right now, I'm feeling great. And that EVEN IF I SPENT MY ENTIRE LIFE TRYING TO TELL YOU, I COULDN'T CONVEY HOW MUCH YOUR REVIEWS MEANT TO ME. Reviews like that are what show me who my real friends are.**

**Anyway, this is how I decided I needed to get better: reading the Yellow Wallpaper. (Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Psychology-lovers, this story is AWESOME). So, it sort of showed me that I couldn't just sit around and **_**wait. **_**I had to act—AKA, force myself to write, force myself to laugh, even when I felt like crying.**

**That, plus exercise and other crap, is helping me a lot. And I'm not failing Early America. And I'm doing real well in school. And homecoming is tomorrow. And I'm going to Puerto Rico this weekend. :) And I'm connecting to my fanfics and my original story "Named" again (which is really important because I want to go to Yale, and getting that published, besides being my dream, would look super awesome on my resume xD).**

**It is so good to be happy. **

**.x.x.**

Chapter Four- At the End of the Day

It was beginning to dim outside when Kagome opened the apartment door.

On first glance, her immediate reaction was to think she'd accidentally gotten a key to the wrong apartment. Her grandfather's apartment wasn't so spotlessly clean… her grandfather's apartment wasn't brightly lit… her grandfather's apartment wasn't free of weird, miscellaneous objects dangling in midair…

Kagome was stunned.

_Either I'm hallucinating, _she thought, _Or Souta got Grandpa to clean up around here._

_ I'm not sure which one is weirder._

Hesitantly, she tiptoed into the living room, taking care to leave the door open, should a random stranger brandishing a broom suddenly attack her. But there were no leaps, no screams, no cries… only silence. And in the unnervingly clean apartment, it was quite an eerie silence.

"Grandpa? Souta?"

Realizing that she'd actually been carrying the key in front of her like a knife, she slowly lowered it to her side. Another step. _Calm, _she thought. _Stay calm. You're overreacting. You've just been having a weird day, that's all… _"Souta?" she repeated, voice inching towards panic. "Grandpa?"

And then she heard the most terrifying thing she'd heard in her life: footsteps.

"AAAAH—"

"Jesus _Christ_," Souta cried out, leaping backwards. His fists were up, eyes wild. When they landed on his panicked sister, he took a moment to breathe… before cracking up. "Kags, what's wrong with you?" he choked out. "I thought you were gonna _kill _me!"

Haughtily, she brushed nonexistent dust off of her shirt. "Why would I kill you?" Kagome grumbled. "You're not worth killing." Quirking her head to the side, she scrutinized him… and realized what was off. Kagome blinked and asked, baffled, "Did you just say Jesus Christ?"

He shrugged noncommittally. "They say it a lot on TV," he said. "The Americans. I think it's like _oh my god _or something."

Kagome, who knew a little bit more about American culture than Souta, just shook her head and said, "Sorry. It just sounded weird, hearing you say it."

He frowned at her. "Why are you staring at me like I'm about to sprout horns? Kagome? Sis, are you all right?"

"What? Who? Me? Fine! Never better! Absolutely, completely—so, uh, how are you?"

Souta, warily, sat down. Kagome followed suit, and they stared at each other for a few minutes before he broke the silence—not by speaking, though. By changing position, by lying down on the couch with his feet up and folding his arms across his chest.

Somehow, he didn't look at all relaxed.

"Hey." She nudged his hand with her knuckles. "You okay? Souta?" When he was silent, she asked hesitantly, "So… what'd you do today?"

Souta shrugged, not looking at her as he replied apathetically, "Came back here. Cleaned the apartment."

At this, Kagome paled. _I can see that, _she thought. Trying to shake off her concern, she forced a smile. "You? _Clean? _Never. I'll believe it when I see it." Apparently, the corny joke either flew over Souta's head or had no effect on him… she suspected it was the latter. Her smile faded, and she shifted uncomfortably, trying to think of something to say… praying that he wasn't thinking about what she thought he was thinking about.

A minute passed.

Distractedly, Souta laughed.

Somehow, it was alarming to her, that he would laugh now as if she'd made the joke just a second ago, instead of a minute ago. She shivered, staring at her hands, unable to make eye contact with him… afraid of what she would find there.

"So," he said suddenly, "What do you think of the city?"

She bit her lip at his impeccably casual tone.

Kagome looked up, scrutinized him briefly. _He's not the little, bumbling boy anymore, _she thought. _Or… was he ever? _She delved farther back into her memory, drudging up a curious question: _After all… wasn't he always the one who took care of me? Wasn't I the scatterbrained one?_

And, even more frightening:

_Who are we now?_

"It's… interesting," she said vaguely, trying to think of words to answer him with. _Interesting, indeed, _she thought grimly. _It's making me question my entire life… and it's also trying to kill me… and it's making me run into random celebrities on the streets—_

He raised his eyebrows at the way her eyes had suddenly widened.

"I… uh… it's nothing," she said evasively. _I can't tell him about the tickets, _she decided. _Not yet—if something went wrong, I couldn't bear to disappoint him like that. I mean, what if that Inuyasha guy stands me up? Or what if—what if he's not even who he says he is? _She hadn't even _considered _that—the fact he might be lying, that she might have been wrong. But as quickly as the concern had surfaced, it drowned in the wake of other, more plausible concerns:

For instance, that tomorrow, she would be made a fool of.

_I mean, come on, _she thought almost scathingly. _He seems kind of like a jerk… sort of… and in any case, why would a famous baseball player ever be interested in _me_?_

"Kagome? Ka-go-me. _KAGOME._"

"Huh? Oh. Heh. Sorry," she said, beginning to laugh. "Just… uh… remembering today." When his smirk made her uncomfortable, she said hastily, "By the way, watch out for those yellow taxis! They're homicidal, I swear."

"Really?" he said wryly, amused. "Did one try to kill you?"

It was beyond Kagome how somehow, it was always her little brother who had the last laugh. Fuming, going a little red, she glared and said pompously, "Yes, it did. You're lucky I made it out alive."

After a moment of internal debate, Souta decided to crack up. And after another moment of internal debate, Kagome gave in and joined him.

_You just wait, Souta, _she thought, trying not to smirk. _When I've got those tickets, you'll be kissing my feet._

And judging from the way he mocked her now, she guessed that he was safely oblivious to the secret (she hoped) she had in store.

.x.x.

_SLAM._

There had always been something incredibly satisfying about the sound of a baseball flying into a wall of bricks. Inuyasha wasn't sure if it was the _whoosh _of air as the ball tore it aside or the slap of leather against brick, but there was something in the action and the result which seemed to cleanse his very being.

He pulled his arm backward, geared up for the throw… and let it loose.

Inuyasha's arm came down like a whip—deadly, precise, and so fast that it was almost invisible. He hurled the ball out of his hand at just the right moment, aiming for maximum velocity and his legendary torpedo spin which made his baseball an elusive target… and which made _him _a feared opponent.

The ball spun so fast that it appeared to move in slow motion.

Inuyasha smirked.

His hand whipped out to snatch the ball out of the air as it returned to him, hurling it again and again against the brick wall. "Faster," he growled to himself. "_Faster, _you lazy moron… come on!"

_Whoosh. SLAM._

He was merciless in his attack. "Take that!" _SLAM. _"And that!" _SLAM. _"You can do better!"

_Whoosh._

The baseball met the brick wall with an explosive uproar.

Inuyasha caught the sound of footsteps, but he didn't look up from his work; he knew it would be Miroku. His teammate and best friend approached cautiously, stopping within ten feet's distance.

"Hey, Yasha."

"Don't call me Yasha."

"Right—Inu, sorry." Miroku smirked while Inuyasha groaned, mentally instead of physically, because he didn't have the energy to spare. Every time his arm plowed forth, he channeled all his strength and power into the ball in his fingers, so that it could plow forth in conquest of all their enemies. And there was no way in hell that Inuyasha would divert any of his energy to anything else, because so far, this strategy had worked.

_Just a few more games, _Inuyasha thought, a grin rising to his face. _Just a few more games, and we win the World Series. _

_ We've got this in the bag._

Miroku raised an eyebrow at Inuyasha's determination. "I feel the need to ask," Miroku said slowly, in that roundabout way of his, "What that wall has ever done to you?"

Inuyasha shrugged, flinging the ball at the wall again, watching as sparks flew off the bricks. "It's an ugly wall, anyway."

"I suppose that's true—the graffiti is rather simplistic and disgusting, to say the least," Miroku mused. "And the dots of chewed gum are a bit much, though I am of the opinion that the artist was trying to make an artistic statement."

Laughing, Inuyasha said, "Yeah—probably _fuck you and this wall. _That kind of statement."

His friend's lips curled.

Even when their chuckling died, the night remained unmistakably alive. Crickets' voices were ubiquitous in the spring air, and the occasional hoot of an owl or flutter of a bat's wings was distinct in Inuyasha's ears. But even more prominent in the night was the steady, rhythmic beat of the baseball against the brick.

_Whoosh. Slam._

_ Perfect resonance, _Inuyasha thought, allowing a small smirk to creep upon his lips.

It was music to his ears.

"You know, I'd forgotten how much I loved this city," Inuyasha said offhandedly, rearing back to charge up once more.

Miroku raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And may I ask what reminded you? Was it the gum-spotted graffiti or the smog in the air?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at him, and probably would have punched him in the shoulder if he hadn't been ten feet away. "Neither," he said.

_Whoosh. Slam._

"Then what?"

The ball slid neatly back into his fingers. Inuyasha relished the sensation of stitched leather grazing against his fingertips before releasing the baseball once more, allowing it to embark on its hundredth journey toward the wall. He caught it and repeated the process, again and again… thinking.

"I guess," he said finally, "It was just… stuff. Stuff is always happening here."

And sure, girls walking right in front of moving taxis wasn't exactly what he'd been expecting… but he couldn't say that it wasn't an interesting change.

As usual, Miroku seemed to know exactly what was on Inuyasha's mind. _Or maybe he's just jumping to conclusions, _Inuyasha thought, smirking. _Seeing as that's his favorite conclusion._

_ Moron._

"And what kind of stuff would that be?" Miroku asked wryly.

Inuyasha hesitated, wondering how to answer and whether to answer at all, and the silence of the baseball suddenly seemed very significant. His hands itched to fling it away again, but for the moment, he was paralyzed by thought. _You know, he's right… what the hell _did _happen? _he asked himself… even though he was fairly certain of the answer.

Inuyasha's fist tightened on the baseball, and abruptly, he hurled it at the wall… and smirked.

"I saved someone's life."

_Whoosh._

"Which someone?"

_Slam._

Inuyasha shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. "A girl," he said. "The idiot walked right out in front of a cab… I tried warning her, but she didn't get it in time, so I kinda ran into her and pushed us out of the street."

Miroku, to Inuyasha's irritation but not to his surprise, wiggled his eyebrows. "Ooh, Inuyasha, night in shining armor… tell me, have you found a princess to save?"

Inuyasha chose that moment to spare the wall a few moments of pain and hurl the ball at _Miroku. _His friend, eyes wide with horror, ducked, hand flying up to snatch it out of the air.

A pause ensued before Miroku winced. "Inuyasha, you throw a hell of a ball."

"Keh; I know," Inuyasha said, smirking. "That's why I'm the pitcher. Now give it here."

Miroku tossed it over to Inuyasha, who caught it with one hand and flung it immediately at the bricks. Just once, though—as soon as it was back in his hand, he let it sit, listening instead as Miroku said, "So… this girl. What'd she look like? What's her name?"

Inuyasha gave him a half-hearted glare. "Why do you think that every girl I meet is gonna become _my _new girl? I mean, c'mon… after the Kikyou fiasco, I don't think I ever want to even _think _the world 'girlfriend.'"

Miroku nodded wisely, taking this in. "Well," he said finally, "We would hope that next time, you would take greater care in choosing—for instance, before asking her to be your girlfriend, you might try to find out whether she was a _psychopath _or not."

"How was I supposed to know Kikyou was a—"

Miroku cut him off, smirking. "Enough of Kikyou. She's safe in therapy, and the restraining order you put on her should be enough to keep her away from you… don't look all guilty about it! Better her feelings than your life! Anyway, back to this girl you saved. What did she look like? Was she pretty?"

Inuyasha shrugged noncommittally, but when Miroku's eyes refused to accept a quirk of the shoulders as an answer, Inuyasha grunted, "Maybe. But it doesn't matter anyway—"

"Give me _details, _man!" Miroku cried out, moving to Inuyasha's side. "What's she like? What did she look like? What's her name?"

"You know, Miroku," Inuyasha said warily, "Sometimes you freak me out."

Miroku grinned at him. "It's all in good fun, my friend. Now back to the topic. You're not weaseling out."

Sighing, recognizing that it was a lost cause, Inuyasha kept his face impartial as he said, "She's Japanese. Nice face. Hot hair." A pause. Then, "She was… different."

"How so?" Miroku asked curiously.

"She said she didn't know who I was until two days ago," Inuyasha said, shaking his head in awe. "I mean, come on—who the hell doesn't know Inuyasha Takahashi?"

Miroku smiled jovially. "I don't know how in the world you manage to shake your head, what with the ego which fills it up."

Glaring at him, Inuyasha muttered a half-hearted, "Keh." Falling to his butt on the ground, he laid down on the court without a care for the dirt. Miroku followed, sitting beside him, and a short silence lapsed over them.

"She was cool," Inuyasha said finally, shrugging as if it were no big deal. _And it's not a big deal, _he reassured himself, sitting up to trace the dirt with one finger. _Just a girl. _"Sort of a bitch," Inuyasha added reflectively. "But that's okay, I guess… I mean, I can't stand it when girls agree with everything I say."

Miroku nodded vaguely. "So… would you be so kind as to grant me a name?"

"Kagome." His eyebrows drew together as he realized, "Don't know the last name."

Snickering, Miroku commented, "Sort of a fail, huh?"

"Major fail," Inuyasha agreed, grimacing. He brightened slightly. "Doesn't matter, though—I'm seeing her again tomorrow."

His friend wolf-whistled, matching Inuyasha's glare with a smirk. "Wow… let's not get ahead of ourselves, here…"

Inuyasha slapped his arm playfully, rolling his eyes. "Man, screw off… it's not like that." Laughing quietly, he said, "Just _acquaintances. _She was very specific."

"Well, I'm sure you're in a hurry to give me all the details—" noticing Inuyasha's menacing growl, Miroku backtracked hastily, correcting, "Or at least _I'm _in a hurry to _hear _all the details. So anyway, I'm sure I'll hear them soon, one way or another… but don't you think we should be getting to sleep?"

"Keh. What time is it, two in the morning?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes, grinning teasingly as he said, "You can go to sleep, if you want."

"Mmm… in that case, I will." Standing up and brushing himself off, Miroku began walking. He paused at the gate, fingers loitering on the chain link fence… metal cool in the summer night's air. Miroku turned slightly, saying over his shoulder, "Whenever you feel like listening to reason, you might want to consider heading toward the hotel… especially because we're waking up at six tomorrow."

Inuyasha shrugged, the light fading a little in his eyes as he muttered to the ground, "I don't sleep all that much. You go ahead."

The softest sigh was audible in the night air, and then Miroku was gone.

Left in solitude, Inuyasha found that his cluttered head was beginning to clear. He laid back in the courtyard, spreading out his arms and turning his palms up to the sky as if soaking up the dark vitality of night. It saturated his skin, his heart, his very essence… creeping tendril by tendril into the center of his very being.

In the lonely dark, the courtyard was faintly reminiscent of his childhood. And yet it was a very different place from the place it had once meant to him… it was a better place. A thinking place. And for a person such as Inuyasha, with a mind like a jumbled game of chess, thinking places didn't come very often.

He sat up, rolled the baseball in one hand, and chucked it at the wall.

_Whoosh._

_ SLAM._

Satisfying as always.

.x.x.

**A/N: Last note: all I can say is LOL.**

**I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but your reactions to Inuyasha being from the Yankees? That was... well... hilarious. Being much of Kagome's opinion on baseball myself, (which is that they're "idiots running around in pinstripes") I'll admit I'd forgotten how passionate people can be about their baseball teams. SO, I'd like to offer you a choice: either we can keep the Yankees, or just make up a team name so nobody is offended. ;) Sound good? **

**Thank you to KagInuReader, SilverStella, XxMYfanFICSxX, Painted Canvas (I love you, by the way. ^.^), Tomatosoup inc., Inu'sgirl4ever, AnimeRomanceFreak1990, BGuate224, ILoveInuyasha4Eva, 00-Wild-Fire-00, anonymous, kenia, Animeroxs Rin-Sess and Inu-Kag, AnimeGummiBear25, iheartinuyasha, Daichilover (another recipient of my endless love, and I'm glad you understood the stuff about the virus! Then again, I'm not surprised. I can tell you're smart by the way you write and talk. ^^), XxInume-TakahashixX, Ivorybreath, feathersnow, xbeautyxxisxxlifex (and, yes, I guess that writing this IS cheating on my other two stories... and my original... which does make updates slower, but I'll manage ^^ (I love you too :D)) and Malachite Flames for reviewing! Thank you for the love and support! I love you all! Your kind words meant worlds to me. YOU mean worlds to me. And hopefully, now that I feel better, I'll stay feeling better... I mean, enough is enough, right? **

**Anyway: positive attitude is important. So I'm going to say that as long as I think I will, I WILL stay better.**

**So, yeah. :)**

**REVIEW, GUYS! PLZZZZZ! **


	5. Different

**Disclaimer 1: Rumiko, I love you, I don't own Inuyasha.**

**Disclaimer 2: Purduepup, I love you, I'm gonna review your story soon I promise, and the idea of Inuyasha being a baseball player and of something that's gonna happen in the future which is super-cute is ALL YOURS! That one-shot idea inspired this story. Feel honored? Good. You should. ;)**

**A/N: Happy Thanksgiving :D. **

Chapter Five- Different

Five minutes.

He had five minutes.

…Kagome had to admit that she was getting a little antsy. And amidst all the silent ravings of _I'm a moron _and _He stood me up _and _Why the hell am I standing here like an idiot_, it was impressive that she even had the room in her head to admit that she was nervous.

_Not like it matters, _she grumbled. _Not like _he _matters._

…Four minutes.

Whether or not he _mattered_, being stood up would be offensive and humiliating. _And if his ass isn't down here in three and a half minutes, _Kagome threatened, _Then I'm going to _find _it and _beat _it._

Two minutes.

Now she was pacing. Ignoring the odd looks she received from patrons of the Shake Shack, Kagome twiddled her thumbs, glaring eye-daggers at the sidewalk and any taxi cabs which happened to pass the corner of her eye. _There's no way, _she assured herself. _He didn't stand me up. Just because he's three minutes—four minutes—late, doesn't mean he stood me up…_

One minute. In one minute, he'd be five minutes late.

She waited.

Nobody came.

"He stood me up," she whispered in disbelief. "He _freaking stood me up! _That _asshole! _I can't _believe _him! When I find that moron, I'm gonna—"

"Hey, you like chocolate, right? Cause I got you a chocolate one."

Kagome whirled around.

To her utter disbelief, and causing much eye-twitching, there he was: right in front of her, holding a milkshake in each hand. One he offered to her, simultaneously drinking the other through a straw… staring innocently at her, as if he weren't five whole minutes late.

She took the milkshake. "Chocolate's fine," she said. She'd always been more of a vanilla person, but she wasn't in the mood to embarrass herself by displaying her immaturity. So she took the milkshake, tasted it… and grinned.

_Pretty good. Though it'd be better if it were vanilla. Can't believe he didn't let me pick._

Inuyasha—who, she noticed, had altered his disguise to include black side-swept bangs falling out from beneath the baseball cap, as well as sunglasses—was grinning at her. Well, it was sort of hard to tell, because of the sunglasses… but she _assumed _he was grinning at her.

"Hey, can't you at least take off the glasses?" she asked. "I hate talking to people with those things on."

To her surprise, he shook his head. "Superstar, remember?" he teased. "I take these off, and the whole world's gonna come after me. Plus, I'm technically not even _here _yet."

"Oh." She shook her head ruefully. "Right."

_He came. I can't believe he came._

Milkshakes in hand, they began walking through the park—incidentally, the only green area Kagome had seen since her arrival. Compared to the small town in which she'd lived, New York City was barren, lifeless, a city of concrete and brick. She'd wondered, looking up and down the treeless streets, how all the people there had enough oxygen to breathe.

_Apparently, _she thought wryly, _This is the answer._

Central Park. And the longer she stayed, the longer she was beginning to suspect that she liked it.

"It's very… green," Kagome said finally. "Different from the rest of the city."

He nodded abstractedly, looking around. "Yeah—I like this place. I forgot how much I missed it."

"You've been here before?"

Nodding again, he explained, "I lived here till I got scouted."

She reddened slightly. "Uh… scouted? Sorry, I—"

"Hey, it's fine," he said, smirking. "No need to apologize for having a second grader's vocab. Completely fine."

Kagome began to growl, but he'd already begun explaining, in that nonchalant way of his which made as if he'd never even said anything. "Uh… scouted… seen? Noticed? Picked out?"

"Oh!" she laughed a little at the sudden outburst, and he raised his eyebrows at her excitement. Kagome silenced him with a glare, saying proudly, "I get it now! Wait, so… what were you scouted for? Who scouted you? When?"

"Baseball," he said. "I was fourteen."

Kagome mouthed "wow" before catching herself and smirking instead. "You like bragging about yourself, don't you? Not like it surprises me."

"Oi, quit with the accusations already!" he griped, and though his tone made her worried she'd offended him, his grin relieved her. "You're the one who wanted to know my whole life story. It's not my problem I'm more awesome than you are."

"Oh… why you…!" she cut herself off, making as if she didn't even want to say it, when in actuality, she couldn't think of the word.

His lips curled. "Narcissist?"

Kagome blushed bright red.

…_Goddammit._

Her irritation at her blushing quelled her desire to speak, so she focused all her energies into getting the blood out of her face. They walked in silence through the shady Central Park, the air fresh and warm, light filtering down onto the grass through a canopy of leaves. _It really is beautiful, _she thought abstractedly. _I'll give it that._

The dulcet tones of children's laughter reached them, accompanied by the smell of ice cream. Kagome stared at the ice cream stand, looking around her briefly, wondering where all the crepes were. To her utter dismay, she saw none. _Not one single crepe stand, _she thought in disbelief. _In all New York, is there not one single crepe stand?_

If she didn't get a crepe by the end of the week, she was going to die.

She narrowed her eyes at the ice cream truck, wondering if she could turn it into a crepe stand by glaring at it for long enough. Her focus impeccable and relentless, she stared at the truck, at the children, at the ice cream, at the leafy light falling across them… at the happiness of it all. Lighthearted, it was. So lighthearted that in her mind, she could almost see those beloved crepes… almost see a little, dark-haired ten-year old boy, smiling and asking for two vanilla-strawberry crepes… and handing one to a little, dark-haired fifteen-year old girl…

Kagome swallowed stiffly, tearing her eyes away from the ice cream truck, away from the family of sandy-haired strangers who laughed and played and licked their cones.

"The tickets."

She surprised herself and Inuyasha by croaking. Clearing her throat, she repeated, turning to Inuyasha, "Do you have the tickets?"

He nodded, reaching into his pocket, returning, "Do you have laryngitis?"

Kagome had no idea what _laryngitis _meant, but judging from the ending of the word, she guessed it was some kind of disease. Deciding not to comment on it, she rolled her eyes and forced a smile. "Can I just see the tickets, please? I want to make sure you're not scamming me."

_And I want to tell Souta about them. I want to see him smile._

The idea was becoming an obsession.

Inuyasha demonstrated a surprising amount of perception by frowning at her. She stiffened, averted her eyes, which probably didn't help her case… but she didn't care. She just wanted to see the tickets. She just wanted to see _Souta's _ticket.

"Here," he said, pulling out two slips of paper. "Real. Genuine. Not a scam. Not photocopied. You can lick them, if you think that'll prove it."

That brought a smile to her lips.

Kagome took the tickets from his hand, staring down at them, tears springing to her eyes. She could see it now, her brother's eyes as he saw the tickets… his face as she gave one to him. And his face at the game, his excitement, his bliss… it was too much for her. It was a miracle.

Kagome stared at Inuyasha, beaming with gratitude.

Inuyasha seemed a little alarmed. Taking an exaggerated step back, he grinned uneasily and said, "Hey, uh… they're just tickets. Seriously. Not two billion dollars or a college fund. I haven't cured cancer or anything."

Her face fell immediately, making him frown. "Guess that's true," Kagome muttered. _Get your act together. Come on, _she urged herself. _Smile. Just smile. It's all you have to do. It's not very hard._

So Kagome looked at him and smiled. "Thanks."

Inuyasha smirked, said, "No problem," and would have succeeded in convincing her of his obliviousness… if not for his eyes.

_ He can see it, _she thought, unnerved. _He knows there's something wrong._

With nothing to say to distract from this revelation, and nothing to do except walk, Kagome did exactly that: walk.

He followed beside her.

"Hey. Is something wrong? What, are the seats not good enough?" he was getting edgy, she could tell. "They're two of the most expensive ones in the stadium," he tried. "You couldn't get much better at almost any time, unless you're made of money."

"Like you, you mean," she said wryly.

He rolled his eyes. "Hey, I work for it," he said, glaring playfully at her. "Don't go pulling the whole _rich _thing on me."

"I wasn't going to," she objected. "Just pointing out a fact."

She smiled, and he smiled, and she silently congratulated herself. Dissembling had never been one of her strengths, nor particularly a pleasure… but she'd managed. And for her own sake and for unknown reasons, she would have to manage.

The truth, for a reason she couldn't quite explain, was at this moment out of the question.

_Not like he needs to know, anyway, _she thought, glancing at him… only to look quickly away when she saw that he was looking at her. _Not like it's any of his business._

Not like he needed to know.

Not like she wanted to talk about it.

Not like she knew him well enough to make an exception.

_He's not an exception, _she reminded herself. _I don't care who he is, or what he looks like, or what he's like. He's not an exception. And it's not like he's thinking about me, anyway._

Which was convenient, because regardless, she couldn't think about him.

It would be… wrong.

_I wonder what Souta's doing now, _Kagome thought. _It isn't like him to stay inside all day… he'd better be out by the time I get home._

"Hey, are there crepes anywhere here?" she asked suddenly.

Blinking dubiously at her, he repeated, _"Crepes?_"

"Yeah. Crepes," she explained. "You know… the—"

"I know what they are. I'm the American here," he said, rolling his eyes. "Don't know _where _they are, though. You know, there might be a restaurant around… they've got lots of weird foods here. You could probably just Google it and find one."

"Huh." She nodded, making a mental note of that. "Right."

"Why crepes?" he asked skeptically.

"Because they're _freaking awesome!"_ she replied, her passion making the both of them laugh. "Come on, who doesn't love a good crepe once in awhile?"

He grinned mockingly at her. "Not me, I swear."

Kagome was surprised to find that she was actually grinning back. They stood there for awhile before they realized what they were doing, and then they looked casually away. She could feel her face reddening a little, and after many minutes of trying to figure out why… it hit her.

_He's not like I thought he would be. He's not at all like I thought he would be._

"You're… different," she managed, scrutinizing him. "Are you sure you're really Inuyasha Takahashi? Cause the Inuyasha Takahashi I saw on the cover of a _People _magazine was not the one I'm seeing now…"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her, and it took her awhile to realize that he thought she was stupid. Mainly, it hit her when he said, "You're a moron, aren't you?"

_"What?"_

"A _moron_," he enunciated, cracking a grin. "A person who's stupid… delayed… idiotic… dropped on the head as a baby…"

"I was _not _dropped on the head as a baby!" she snapped, glaring. "And for your information, I'm not stupid. Why do you think I'm stupid?"

He rolled his eyes, smirking. "You're taking it too personally. I'm just surprised—I mean, come on, everybody knows not to judge a book by its cover."

"But you're a person," she said, glaring… realizing that that didn't help her case too much.

He laughed out loud. "Yeah, I'm a person," he agreed, "So I'm not gonna really act like how I look like on magazines, right? The sexy smiles—not that I'm not sexy—are all for the media. Come on, you should know that."

She reddened. _Yeah, _she thought, surprised. _Maybe I should…_

Driven to curiosity, she asked suddenly, "What's it like to be famous?"

He gave her a sidelong glance, which made her frown until he said finally, forehead creasing, "Nobody ever asks that." Laughing almost in surprise, he shrugged and said, "It's sorta weird, I guess, but… nobody ever asks that."

Kagome stared at him.

"Why not?" she asked blankly. "Family, friends? _Nobody?_" Smiling wryly, she added, "You'd think it would be the kind of thing they'd ask _first, _not forgetabout."

Over the last week, Kagome had become particularly apt at identifying the many species of silences. Comfortable, thoughtful, awkward… tense. This pause, this forced, unnatural silence, was tense.

She would know. She'd endured enough of them.

Kagome's eyes snapped to Inuyasha's face, only to find that he wasn't looking at her. Facing forward, torso rigid, it was as if he hadn't even heard her question… only she knew he had. She knew from the way his jaw was set.

But faster than she could blink, the tension was gone.

"You're different, too," he said suddenly, smirking at her.

It unnerved her, how quickly he hid his feelings. And she knewhe was hiding something; Kagome knew that look, that slight tightness of the eyes, the forcedly casual shoulders. Even his walk, his gait, had become stiff in its elaborate ease.

_Of all people, _she thought, biting her lip, _I can recognize the signs._

And similarly, she could respect them. For now.

It took Kagome a second to remember his words, and to realize that he had just dismissed the entire last part of their conversation. She stared at him, perplexed, and finally decided to just… forget about it.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "I'm not famous."

He just shook his head, frowning in thought. "Not different than I thought _you _would be," he explained. "I don't know who the hell you are. I don't even know your last name. I just meant… you're pretty down-to-Earth."

"Yeah." She nodded abstractedly, staring into the distant sky. "Life can do that to you."

"I don't mean it in a bad way, don't get all defensive about it. It's just… I don't run into that many down-to-Earth people. It's pretty good to talk to someone who isn't gonna go psycho and attack me or anything."

"Does that happen a lot?"

"Depends," he teased, smirking.

She nodded vaguely, looking out into the sky, staring at the spaces between the leaves… at the shimmering light beyond. Maybe, if she stared hard enough, she could pierce that space. Maybe, if she stared hard enough, she could change it.

_There could be a whole universe in those little spaces, _she thought vaguely. _And we wouldn't know… _

She wished there were a universe in those little spaces—a universe she could jump into, for in this moment, for some reason, she felt incredibly alone.

"I hate to disappoint you," Kagome said, one side of her mouth quirking upwards, "But if you think I'm a normal, down-to-Earth person, you're mistaken."

He grinned at that. "Never said you were normal. Just that you were down-to-Earth."

"Well, it still sounds insulting!"

Unsure whether to be amused or irritated, she watched him laugh, face twitching. Finally, when it seemed he had finished, grinned at her. "See? Nobody who says being called down-to-Earth is insulting is normal. I bet you don't like being called normal, either."

Sighing, Kagome said with a trace of glumness, "I gave up on normality in high school. It just wasn't my thing, I guess."

She kept silent, biting down on her tongue, biting down on any words which might have slipped forth. Kagome didn't mention what had followed that resignation—the self doubt, the hurt. Nor did she mention the way her friends had always teased her about it, the way she shouldn't have been hurt, the way it was all in fun… the way it hurt her anyway.

The way she'd decided that in the end, being abnormal was okay. _Normal _had always seemed boring.

Startlingly, it had begun to seem more appealing over the last year or so. But she didn't mention that either.

She began to notice Inuyasha's eyes on her, and when she couldn't take it anymore, she looked up at him. "So," she said finally, "Would you consider yourself normal?"

"Hell, no. I never was and I never will be. That's just the way it is."

Kagome cracked a grin. "This conversation has turned so… serious."

"No way," he said, shaking his head in mock horror. "I don't do serious stuff. Let's change the topic."

"You're a weirdo," she said, trying not to laugh. "It's okay, though. I haven't had this much fun in ages."

When Inuyasha just stared at her, she looked quickly away, cursing herself and her tendency to say everything she felt. He was silent for a second, and so was she, and only their footsteps pierced the peace… until his phone beeped.

Inuyasha flipped it open, grimaced, and turned to her.

"Gotta go practice, I think Miroku—a friend and teammate—is gonna chew me out."

"Oh." She smirked. "Go, then. You'd better win this game."

"Don't worry. I will." He hesitated, grimacing, and asked suddenly, "Oi, you've got a last name, right?"

"Of course I have a—oh." Kagome laughed at her own stupidity. "Yeah. I have one. You want it?"

He smirked. "Nope, I just wanted to know."

After an awkward silence, she decided he was being sarcastic. "Higurashi," she said. "I'm Kagome Higurashi."

"Well, nice to meet you, Kagome Higurashi," he said, smirking. "I'm Inuyasha Takahashi. And you'd better not get run over by any taxis before the game, cause that'd be a waste of two pricey tickets that could've paid for _my _salary."

With that, he waved and walked away, disappearing into the crowd. And fortunately for him, by the time Kagome had processed exactly what he had said… he was long gone.

.x.x.

**A/N: Thank you to AnimeRomanceFreak1990, BGuate224, XxInume-TakahashixX, Tomatosoup inc., SilverStella, xbeautyxxisxxlifex, Yana5, ElvenMermaid, 00-Wild-Fire-00, kenia, KagomeForever56, purduepup, ILoveInuyasha4Eva, Wassappbi, and Inu-Yasha lov3r1 for reviewing! I love you guys!**

**Oh and a verdict has been reached: Inuyasha shall hail from an imaginary sports team. Any ideas for the name?**


	6. I Am Alive

Okay guys. I am going to be perfectly honest now. Please don't murder me.

With my schoolwork and my novel, keeping up with three fanfics has proven to be impossible. And you've probably noticed that, since I haven't updated… in… months… DX. Now. I've promised you repeatedly that I won't discontinue my stories, and I'm not breaking that promise. Instead, I'm going to put two on hold and finish ONE. And then move to those two. And I want you guys to help me decide what story I should finish first.

Updates will still be slower, though. But hopefully not months slower :). In my high school I have found many new things: somewhat difficult classes, a crush/possible boyfriend, and a social life. Top that stuff with the fact that my perfectionist, high-standard-striving brain has decided that I need to publish a book before I graduate high school or I will never get into Yale (in which case I will be sad), I'm pretty busy and kinda stressed out.

But I love you guys, and you're my friends too, so I won't leave you. And I want your opinions on which story I should continue. Occasionally I might update others, but the story which you and I choose will be the one I focus on.

So, anyway: review and tell me whether Lives Will Change, By Candlelight, or Remember Your Wings will be the one! And I'm sorry for flaking out on you. I just can't deal with ten stories at once like some of you incredible people can. But kudos to you for doing it! I could never do that.

Love, hugs, kisses, birdies,

NF222

(Oh and if I did anything weird in there like randomly spazzing out about puppies, custard, or shrimp, please excuse me. I have a fever of 103. ^.^)


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